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UNI  VKKSITV   OK 


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PESTALOZZI 


His  Life,  Work,  and  Intluence. 


BY 


HERMANN    KRUSI,    A.M., 

60N  OF  PESTALOZZI'S  FIRST  A8S0CIATE.    IX8TEUCT0R  IN  PHILOSOPHY  OF  EDUCATION 
AT  THE  OSWEGO  NORMAL  AND  TRAINING  SCHOOL. 


L  1  MiiX:  V  i^    s  ; 


,     VAN  ANTWEItP,  BRAGG  &  CO., 

137   WALNUT  STREET,  28   BOND  STREET, 

CINCINNATI.  NEW  YOKK. 


L-Bb 


COPYRIGHT,  1875,  BY  WILSON,  HINKLE  &  CO. 


y 


^^yS' 


i:< 


ECLECTIC    PRESS: 

VAN  ANTWERP,  BRAGG  b  CO. 

CINCINNATI. 


DEDICATION. 

Co  tf)e  iHemorp  of  mg  dFatJet 

I  OFFER  THIS   TRIBUTE   OF  GRATITUDE   AND   LOVE, 

AT    THE     CENTENARY    OF   HIS   BIRTH, 

MARCH  12th,  1875. 


PEEFAOE. 


A  N  educational  movement,  which  in  Europe  has  led  to  a  com- 
plete  reorganization  of  schools,  and  has  supplied  many  educators 
of  this  country  with  better  methods  of  teaching,  deserves  to  be  known 
as  an  important  event  in  the  history  of  civilization.  This  movement 
ought  to  be  examined  from  its  very  rise  and  origin,  and  viewed  in  a 
light  which  shows  the  legitimate  connection  between  its  principles 
and  their  application,  and  exposes  professions  and  practices  that 
have  been  falsely  ascribed  to  it. 

Pestalozzis  labors  are  a  record  of  a  noble  enthusiasm,  which  was 
communicated  to  all  who  came  within  its  influence.  It  is  well,  even 
at  this  advanced  stage  of  tnaterial  progress,  to  search  for  the  source 
of  this  enthusiasm,  and  to  study  with  care  his  first  feeble  attempts 
toward  the  realization  of  a  great  idea. 

The  present  work  was  not  undertaken  without  due  appreciation  of 

its  difficulties.     The  author,  in  whose  memory  still  remains  the  testi- 

mony  of  many  of  the  personal  friends  of  Pestalozzi,  and  who  holds 

in  his  possession  records  and  letters  of  that  period,  hitherto  unpub- 

lished,  considers  it  a  moral  duty  to  give  to  the  public  that  which 

seems  worthy  of  preservation.      An  experience  of  thirty  years   in 

several  Normal  Schools  of  Switzerland,  Germany,  England,  and  the 

United  States,  has  given  him  the  privilege  of  testing  the  value  of 

Pestalozzi's  method,  and  has  strengthened  his  conviction  of  the  pos- 

sibility  and  the  necessity  of  its  application. 

(vii) 


Vin  PREFACE. 

He  trusts  that  many  of  his  pupils,  who,  in  former  years,  liave  leiit 
an  attentive  ear  to  portions  of  this  narrative,  will  be  pleased  to  hear 
more  from  their  old  friend  and  teacher. 

To  those  of  our  unknown  friends  and  colleagues  who  have  been 
earnestly  striving — although  in  an  experimental  and  fragmentary 
way — to  find  the  correct  method  of  reaching  the  minds  of  their 
pupils,  we  liope  the  record  of  similar  experiments  may  affbrd  conso- 
lation  or  warning,  according  to  the  paths  they  have  chosen. 

To  those  who  have  never  troubled  themselves  with  questions  of 
this  kind,  or  who  are  still  floating  on  a  sea  of  uncertainty,  we  would 
like  to  present  both  oar  and  rudder  by  which  to  guide  their  boat  to 
a  safe  landing.  If  this  work  stimulates  inquiring  minds  to  further 
experiments  and  discoveries  in  the  field  of  education  and  its  methods, 
or  to  a  more  comprehensive  and  philosophic  investigation  of  the 
subject  in  all  its  bearings,  our  effort  will  not  have  been  in  vain. 

H.  KRÜSI. 


CO^TEj^TS. 


PART  I.  — LIFE  OF  PESTALOZZI. 

CHAPTER  I. 
Life  at  Zürich 13 

CHAPTER  II. 
Life  at  Neühof  ' 20 

CHAPTER  IIL 
Life  at  Stanz  / 30 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Life  at  Burgdorf  ' 38 

CHAPTER  V. 
Life  at  Yverdon 45 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Closing  Years  of  his  Life 61 


PART  II.  —  ASSOCIATES  OF  PESTALOZZI. 


Introduction  to  Part  II .66 

CHAPTER  I. 
Hermann  Krüsi 67 

CHAPTER  IL 
Johannes  Niederer 79 

CHAPTER  III. 
Gustav  Tobler  87 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Johannes  Buss 93 

CHAPTER  V. 

Assistants  üf  Pestalozzi  —  Ramsauer,  Schmid,  Steiner     ...      96 

(ix) 


X  CONTENTS. 

PART  III.— EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  WRITINGS  OF 
PESTALOZZI. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Social  and  Political  Sübjects 103 

CHAPTER  II. 
Leonard  and  Gertrude  119 

CHAPTER  III. 
Christopher  and  Eliza 137 

PART  IV.— PRINCIPLES  AND  METHOD  OF  PESTALOZZI. 

CHAPTER  L 
General  View  of  the  Pestalozzian  Method     .        .        .        .        .    151   \ 

CHAPTER  IL 

CONFORMITY    OF     PeSTALOZZI's     MeTHOD    TO    THE     NATURAL    OrDER    OF 

Human  Development 159 

CHAPTER  III. 
Special  Application  of  Pestalozzi's  Method      .        .        .        .        .    169 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Application  of  the  Method  of  Pestalozzi  (Continued)     .        .        .    181 

PART  V.  — SPREAD    OF   THE    PESTALOZZIAN    SYSTEM. 

CHAPTER  I. 

SWITZERLAND 195 

CHAPTER  IL 
Germany 202 

CHAPTER  HL 
France,  Spain,  and  Russia 213 

CHAPTER  IV. 
England       ......        219 

CHAPTER  V. 
United  States *        .        .        .    228 


Part  i. 


LIFE   OF  PESTALOZZI. 


(in 


^    1.1  BRA  KY    ^ 

IJK  1  V  KU8  1TV    OF 

CALlFüIiNiA. 


CHAPTER    I. 


LIFE  AT  ZUEICH 

THE  early  years  of  a  man's  life  have  great  influence  in  moulding 
his  character.  As  the  pilot  with  a  slight  turning  of  his  wheel 
changes  the  direction  of  the  heavily  laden  ship,  so  events  apparently 
insignificant  in  themselves,  acting  upon  the  impressible  nature  of  a 
child,  may  afFect  his  entire  destiny.  It  is  said  of  HLaydn,  that  the 
sweet  singing  of  his  mother  beside  his  cradle  called  forth  that  talent 
for  music  which  distinguished  him  in  after  life.  The  father  of  Lin- 
naeus,  the  distinguished  Swedish  botanist,  used  to  cover  the  bed  of 
his  beloved  boy  with  flowers,  thus  cultivating  in  him  at  that  early 
age  a  love  for  those  fair  productions.  It  is  true  that  talent,  a  giftr 
of  the  Creator,  has  never  been  produced  by  circumstances ;  but  it  is 
also  true  that  powers  which  might  otherwise  have  slumbered  forever, 
have,  in  many  cases,  been  awakened  and  led  into  action  by  events 
which,  in  themselves,  were  trifling. 

The  life  of  the  man  whose  work  we  are  about  to  examine  affords  an 
illustration  of  the  effects  of  early  associations  in  determining  character 
and  shaping  the  subsequent  events  of  life. 

Henry  Pestalozzi  was  born  on  the  12th  of  January,  1746,  at  Zürich, 
a  town  situated  in  the  German  part  of  Switzerland,  on  the  lovely  shore 
of  a  lake  of  the  same  name.  His  ancestors  were  Italian  Protestants, 
who  had  been  obliged  to  flee  from  their  homes  on  account  of  religious 
persecutions,  and  had  found  an  asylum  among  the  enlightened  Citizens 
of  Zürich — hence  his  Italian  name.  His  father  was  a  physician,  whose 
benevolent  and  unselfish  character  prevented  him  from  devoting  his 
energies  to  the  acquisition  of  wealth. 

Henry  was  but  six  years  old  when  his  father  died,  and  his  good 
mother,  although  not  wholly  destitute,  was  obliged  to  practice  the 
utmost  economy  to  sustain  the  dignity  of  the  family.  She  withdrew 
from  the  allurements  of  society,  and  consecrated  herseif  to  domestic 
duties ;  thus  giving  her  children  the  invaluable  blessing  of  her  con- 
stant  care  and  supervision.     In  this  task  she  was  nobly  supported  by 

(13) 


14  PESTALOZZI. 

a  faithful  servant,  who  made  the  interest  of  her  mistress's  family 
her  own.  Pestalozzi  gives  the  followmg  account  of  this  frieiid  of 
his  childhood : 

"  When  my  father  was  on  his  death-bed,  he  thought  sorrowfully  of 
the  great  bürden  which  the  attendauce  to  household  duties  and  the 
care  of  the  children  would  throw  upon  my  mother.  In  these  despond- 
ing  moments  he  turned  to  Barbara,  the  faithful  servant,  and  begged 
her  with  fervent  entreaty  not  to  leave  his  family,  since  otherwise  the 
mother  miist  part  with  some  of  his  children. 

*'The  noble  girl  replied,  'I  shall  never  leave  your  wife,  if  it  should 
please  God  to  take  you  hence.  I  will  remain  with  her  tili  death,  if 
she  wishes  nie  to  do  so.' " 

She  kept  her  promise,  and  spent  her  whole  life  in  the  family.  Her 
education  being  limited,  she  could  contribute  but  little  to  the  mental 
development  of  the  children,  of  whom  there  were  three,  besides  Henry ; 
but  her  example  of  self-sacrifice  and  of  praetical  morality  left  indelible 
impressions  on  the  hearts  of  all. 

"When  we  wanted  to  run  about  the  streets  for  our  amusement," 
says  Pestalozzi,  "she  wished  us  to  stay  at  home,  and  save  our  clothing 
and  shoes ;  and  when  we  found  it  hard  to  obey,  she  told  us  of  our 
good  mother,  who  deprived  herseif  of  so  many  enjoyments  for 
our  sake." 

The  sacrifices  of  a  mother  for  her  children  do  not  show  more  no- 
bility  of  soul  than  was  displayed  by  this  poor,  uneducated  girl,  who 
gave  up  all  her  worldly  interest  for  a  family  not  her  own.  "Who 
knows,"  says  Biber  in  his  biography  of  Pestalozzi,  "whether  this  pu- 
rity  and  strength  of  character  shown  by  a  person  of  humble  rank  may 
not  have  imposed  a  debt  on  Pestalozzi,  of  which  he  nobly  acquitted 
himself  in  after  years  by  vindicating  for  the  neglected  classes  of  society 
those  moral  and  intellectual  rights  of  which  they  had  been  deprived 
by  the  Ignorant  pride  of  their  fellow  men  ? " 

Pestalozzi,  w^ho  was  in  his  youth  delicate  and  sickly,  had  a  nervous 
temperament,  which  delighted  in  mental  activity.  He  says  of  himself: 
"My  feelings  and  Imagination  were  so  predominant  that  I  neglected 
many  things.  I  often  committed  blunders,  which  got  nie  into  more 
scrapes  and  troubles  than  any  other  child  of  my  age ;  but  I  possessed 
a  light  heart,  which  made  me  forget  my  small  sufFerings  after  a  few 
hours."  These  traits  of  character  w^ere  fully  displayed  in  his  work  at 
school,  for  he  never  excelled  in  any  of  those  'branches  which  tax 
merely  Imitation  and  memory.  He  preferred  those  in  which  the  füll 
Imagination,  originality,  and  poetry  of  soul  could  be  brought  into  play. 
Among  other  things,  he  neglected  orthography  and  penmanship,  and 


LIFE   AT   ZÜRICH. 


15 


bis  defects  in  these  caused  serious  inconvenience  to  him  during  all  bis 
after  life.  In  classical  studies  he  cared  niore  for  tbe  spirit  of  tbe 
writer  tban  for  tbe  grammar;  more  for  tbe  thougbt  tban  tbe  expres- 
sion.  It  is  Said,  tbat  wben  a  student  be  made  a  translation  of  an 
oration  of  Demostbenes,  wbicb  was  so  excellent  tbat  it  was  afterward 
publisbed  in  a  scientific  Journal. 

Owing  to  tbe  awkwardness  of  bis  manner  and  tbe  singularity  of  bis 
cbaracter,  be  passed  among  bis  scbool-fellows  as  ''green,"  and  received 


T"¥^-^ 


View  of  Zürich. 

tbe  nickname  ''Henry  Queer,  of  Follyville."  He  bad  tben  and  ever 
afterward  sucb  perfect  faitb,  tbat  be  was  often  made  tbe  butt  of  jokes 
and  tbe  dupe  of  cunning  scbemes.  He  measured  tbe  world  by  bis 
\  own  Standard,  and  preferred  to  be  deceived  ratber  tban  to  distrust. 
!  It  is  tbe  fate  of  sucb  confiding  souls  to  be  ridiculed  for  tbeir  simplic- 
ity,  yet  loved  for  tbeir  goodness. 

Considering  tbat  tbe  cbaracter  and  metbod  of  teacbing  used  in  tbe 
scbools  at  tbat  lime  was  formal  and  mecbanical,  it  may  be  inferred 
tbat  it  did  little  toward  preparing  bim  for  bis  important  mission; 
yet  we  do  not  wisb  to  undervalue  tbe  merit  of  sucb  men  as  Bodmer 
and  Breitingerj  wbo  were  tben  among  tbe  professors  of  bis  native 
city. 

In  bis  Visits  to  bis  grandfatber,  a  Protestant  minister  at  Hoengg, 
be  profited  mucb  by  tbe  practical  lessons  of  benevolence  wbicb  he 


16  PESTALOZZI. 

'there  received.  Uniting  System  with  generosity,  the  old  gentleman 
kept  a  register  of  all  the  families  of  the  parish,  in  which  the  moral 
character,  circumstances,  and  wants  of  each  were  deseribed ;  thus,  in 

j  his  parochial  visits  he  could  not  fail  to  administer  advice  and  coi 

'  solation  according  to  the  needs  of  each  case.  Jn_  Jhis-A^illage,  where 
many  mills  were  in  active  Operation,  he  first  witnessed  the  contrast 
between  extreme  wealth  and  abjeet  poverty.  He  saw  the  cliildren 
of  the  village  playing  before  the  school-house,  with  eyes  sparkling 
with  pleasure  and  innocence,  contented  and  happy  even  in  their 
rags ;  but  when  he  compared  them  with  those  of  more  mature  age, 
the  victims  of  overwork  and  manifold  vices,  with  hollow  cheeks  and 

j  sunken  eyes,  and  with  the  appearance  of  constant  misery  upon  their 
faces,  his  yoting  soul  was  incensed  against  the  selfishness  of  wealth 
built  upon  such  ruins  of  health  and  happiness.  [  What  he  daily  saw 
of  the  oppression  of  the  people  under  an  aristocratic  government,  and 
the  acts  of  injustice  committed  under  its  sway,  nurtured  in  his  breast 
that  yearning  for  liberty  and  reformation  which  earned  for  him  afte.v- 
w^ard  the  name  of  a  noble-minded  patriot  and  true  liberal. 

There  are  individuals  who,  from  the  mildness  of  their  disposition 
an.i  from  their  aversion  to  personal  quarreis,  are  commonly  considered 
cowards;  and  yet  these  same  people  display  occasionally  an  energy 
and  courage  which  is  in  strong  contrast  to  their  usual  behavior. 
Pestalozzi  exhibited  such  antagonistic  qualities.  In  the  year  1755, 
the  earthquake  which  destroyed  Lisbon  was  feit  in  Switzerland.  The 
school-room  in  which  the  young  Henry  was  study ing  was  violently 
shaken.  The  fright  was  universal.  *'The  teachers,"  as  Pestalozzi 
describes  it  in  his  quaint  language,  "  flew  down  stairs  over  the  heads 
of  their  boys."  After  the  first  terror  had  subsided,  they  wished  to 
obtain  the  books,  hats,  and  other  property  left  in  the  building,  but 
all  were  afraid  to  enter  except  *'  Harry  Queer."  He  boldly  per- 
formed  the  task  which  his  companions  refused  to  do.  This  boldness 
we  find  marked  in  his  perhaps  incautious  Opposition  to  acts  of  in- 
justice and  oppression  imposed  by  some  of  the  dignitaries  of  the 
State.  When  only  a  boy  in  years,  in  connection  with  his  celebrated 
cotemporaries,  Lavater  and  Füssli,  he  exposed,  by  means  of  the  press, 
the  delinquencies  of  selfish  politicians,  thereby  rousing  their  anger, 
and  imperiling  his  future  chances  for  advancement. 

In  his  choice  of  a  profession,  encouraged  by  his  venerable  grand- 
father,  it  seems  natural  that  he  should  have  decided  for  the  ministry. 
His  first  effbrts  at  preaching,  however,  proved  a  failure.  Those  who 
had  witnessed  his  natural  eloquence,  proceeding,  as  it  did,  from  a 
heart  deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  veneration  for  all  that  is  pure 


LIFE    AT    ZÜRICH.  17 

and  holy,  and  breathing  love  and  good-will  for  all  mankind,  were  — 
astonished  at  the  cause  which  he  assigned  for  relinquishing  his 
chosen  calling — that  he  stopped  short  in  his  sermon  and  made  mis- 
takes  in  the  Lord's  Prayer.  This  arose  probably  from  embarrass- 
ment,  which  made  the  young  minister  forget  the  sermon  which  he 
had  been  obliged  to  commit  to  memory.  More  likely,  however,  it 
was  an  exalted  idea  of  the  proper  qualifications  of  a  clergyman,  com- 
pared  with  his  own  humble  merits,  which  induced  him  to  exchange 
the  study  of  Theology  for  that  of  Law.  In  doing  this  he  avoided 
Scylla  only  to  fall  into  Charybdis.  We  can  not  imagine  that  an 
ardent  mind  like  his,  desiring  to  judge  all  matters  according  to  the 
eternal  laAVS  of  justice,  could  be  satisfied  with  expounding  human 
laws,  when  their  interpreters  had,  by  quibbles  and  distortions,  adapted 
them  to  all  the  iniquities  of  a  corrupt  age.  If  he  had  explained  the 
law  according  to  the  noble  and  fiery  Impulse  of  his  soul,  and  not 
according  to  the  dead-letter  and  stereotyped  form,  he  w^ould  have 
xpiated  his  temerity  in  a  political  prison,  or  in  some  place  of  ban- 
ishment.  His  study  of  the  law  must,  therefore,  have  produced  neg- 
ative results  by  showing  him  the  insufficiency  of  human  legislä»  jou 
to  do  away  with  abuses,  unless  supported  by  principles  of  charit^)  and 
justice. 

About  this  time,  1764,  "Emile,"  a  celebrated  Avork  on  Education,  | 
by  Rousseau,  feil  into   his  hands.     This  led  his  thoughts  into  that  t 
Channel  from  which  were  to  issue  immortal  ideas  for  universal  educa- 
tion.    The  principles  of  that  w^ork  tended  to  overturn  the  prevalent 
notions  of  methods  of  teaching.     They  suggested  facts  and  realities^ 
instead  of  empty  sounds  and  superficial  definitions — thus  appealing 
to  common  sense.     The  fact,  however,  that  Rousseau  represents  his  j 
ideal  pupil,  Emile,  isolated  and  without  school-companions,  could  not  | 
harmonize  wdth  the  views  of  a  philanthropist  like  Pestalozzi. 

Bluntschli,  an  intimate  friend,  who  possessed  great  forethought, 
when  on  his  death-bed,  said  to  his  friend  Pestalozzi,  "1  die,  and  I 
w^arn  you,  if  left  to  yourself,  never  to  embark  in  any  Operation  which 
might  become  dangerous  to  your  peace  of  mind,  because  of  the  sim- 
plicity  and  tenderness  of  your  disposition.  Select  a  quiet  and  peace- 
ful  occupation,  and  do  not  enter  into  any  comprehensive  undertaking 
without  the  advice  and  assistance  of  a  faithful  friend."  The  suita- 
bleness  of  this  advice  will  be  evident  to  every  one  w^ho  foUows  us 
through  the  vicissitudes  of  his  eventful  life. 

Soon  after   this  he  visited  his  uncle,  and  enjoyed  the  charms  of 
rural  life  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Zürich.     His  stay  there,  combined 
with  the  advice  of  his  dying  friend,  may  have  matured  the  new  plan 
P.  2. 


18  PESTALOZZI. 

of  devoting  himself  to  agriculture,  and  retiring  to  the  seclusion  of  a 
country  farm.  In  order  to  combine  practice  Avith  theory,  he  resorted 
to  the  flourishing  farm  of  a  rieh  proprietor,  celebrated  for  his  im- 
proved  methods  of  cultivation,  and  prepared  himself  for  his  new  task 
with  his  usual  zeal.  But  he  never  acquired  the  practical  skill,  and 
power  of  adapting  his  means  to  existing  circumstances,  which  are 
indispensable  requisites  to  the  successful  practice  of  farming. 

About  this  time,  also,  he  formed  acquaintance  with  that  noble 
woman,  Anna  Schulthess,  w^ho  stood  so  faithfully  by  his  side  during 
the  trials  of  his  agitated  life.  She  belonged  to  a  wealthy  family  of 
Zürich,  and  the  desire  of  seciiring  a  home  for  her  stimulated  him  to 
unusual  exertions.  He  retiirned  from  an  agriciiltural  toiir  with  san- 
guine  projects  about  the  cultivation  of  madder  as  a  profitable  specu- 
lation.  He  even  induced  a  mercantile  house  at  Zürich  to  supply 
him  with  funds  for  the  purpose.  He  selected  and  bought  an  un- 
cultivated  tract  of  about  one  hundred  acres,  situated  in  the  Canton 
of  Aargau,  near  the  confluence  of  the  rivers  Aar,  Reuss,  and  Lim- 
mat.  He  named  his  purchase  Neuhof  (new  farm).  There,  in 
sight  of  Hapsburg,  the  hereditary  castle  of  the  Austrian  Monarchy, 
he  built  a  house  in  the  Italian  style,  and  began  his  Operations  with 
more  zeal  than  skill  and  foresight.  From  this  place  he  corresponded 
with  the  lady  above  mentioned.  The  letter,  in  which  he  offers  her 
his  band  and  invites  her  to  share  his  fortunes,  is  so  characteristic  of 
the  man's  honesty  and  delicacy  of  feeling  that  we  quote  it  nearly 
entire : 

"  My  failings,  which  appear  to  nie  the  most  important  in  relation 
to  the  future,  are  improvidence,  w^ant  of  caution,  and  want  of  that 
presence  of  mind  which  is  necessary  to  meet  unexpected  changes  in 
my  future  prospects.  I  hope,  by  continued  exertions,  to  overcome 
them;  but  know  that  I  possess  them  still  to  a  degree,  that  does  not 
allow  me  to  conceal  them  from  the  maiden  I  love.  They  are  faults, 
my  dear,  w^hich  deserve  your  füllest  consideration.  I  possess  yet 
other  failings,  which  must  be  chiefly  attributed  to  my  irritability  of 
temper  and  oversensitiveness.  I  go  to  extremes  in  my  praise,  as 
well  as  in  my  blame ;  in  my  likings,  and  dislikings.  I  also  enter 
into  plans  and  schemes  with  such  fervor  as  to  exceed  proper  limits, 
and  my  general  sympathy  is  such,  that  I  feel  unhappy  in  the  misery 
of  my  fatherland  and  friends.  Direct  your  whole  attention  to  this 
weakness ;  there  will  be  times  when  my  tranquillity  and  cheerfulness 
of  soul  -will  suffer  under  it 

"  Of  my  great  and  very  reprehensible  negligence  in  matters  of 
etiqu€tte  and  conventionality,  it  is  useless  to  speak,  as  it  is  too  obvi- 


LIFE    AT   ZÜRICH.  19 

ous.  I  am  further  bound  to  confess,  that  I  shall  place  the  cluties 
toward  my  fatherland  in  advance  of  those  to  my  wife,  and  that, 
altliough  I  mean  to  be  a  tender  husband,  I  shall  be  inexorable  even 
to  the  tears  of  my  wife,  if  they  should  ever  try  to  detain  me  from 
performing  my  duties  as  Citizen,  to  their  füllest  extent.  My  wife 
shall  be  the  confidant  of  my  heart,  the  partner  of  all  my  most  secret 
counsel.  A  great  ^id  holy  simplicity  shall  reign  in  my^  house.  One 
thing  more,  my  life  will  not  pass  without  great  and  important  un- 
dertakings.  I  shall  never  refrain  from  speaking,  when  the  good  of 
my  country  demands  it.  My  whole  heart  belongs  to  it,  and  I  shall 
risk  every  thing  to  mitigate  the  misery  and  need  of  my  countrymen. 

"  Reflect  well,  and  decide  whether  you  can  give  your  heart  to  a 
man  wdth  these  qualities,  and  in  this  condition,  and  be  happy. 

"My  dear  friend,  I  love  you  so  tenderly  and  fervently  that  this 
confession  has  cost  me  much,  since  it  may  even  take  from  me  the 
hope  of  winning  you.  My  conscience  would  have  called  me  a  traitor, 
not  a  lover,  if  I  had  withheld  from  you  any  fact  that  might  cause 
you  future  anxiety,  or  render  you  miserable.  I  now  rejoice  at  what 
I  have  done.  If  the  circumstances  in  which  my  duty  and  my  coun- 
try may  place  me  hereafter,  should  make  an  end  to  my  yearnings 
and  hopes,  I  shall  be  conscious  at  least  of  not  having  been  treacher- 
ous — of  not  having  attempted  to  please  you  by  assumed  virtue.  I 
have  deceived  you  with  no  chimerical  hopes  of  a  happiness  that  is 
not  to  be  expected ;  I  have  concealed  from  you  no  danger  and  no 
sorrow  for  the  future ;  I  have  no  cause  for  self-reproach." 

The  lady  was  worthy  of  his  confidence.  Although  the  candid  con- 
fessions  of  the  faults  of  her  lover  presented  but  a  thorny  prospect  of 
life,  they  could  not  shake  her  belief  in  his  disinterested  love  and 
integrity  of  character.  They  were  united  in  the  year  1769,  Pesta- 
lozzi being  then  in  his  24th  year. 

With  the  noble  and  intelligent  lady,  who  shared  with  him  her 
ample  property,  he  might  have  lived  in  comparative  ease  and  com- 
fort,  had  he  thought  only  of  his  own  interests.  But  having  the  weak- 
ness  of  considering  all  the  suffering  members  of  the  human  race  as 
belonging  to  his  own  faniily,  it  may  be  presumed  that  his  life  at 
Neuhof  did  not  pass  without  dark  and  bitter  experiences. 


CHAPTER    II 
LIFE  AT  NEUHOF. 


View  of  Neuhof. 

THE  clreams  of  a  happy  futiire,  of  days  to  be  spent  in  genial  and 
profitable  employment  at  the  side  of  a  loving  wife,  were  soon  dis- 
pelled  by  cares  and  disappointments.  Pestalozzi's  undertaking  re- 
quired  patience,  practical  skill,  and,  above  all,  order,  System,  and 
the  utmost  economy ;  but,  as  has  been  stated,  he  was  not  of  a  prac- 
tical turn,  and  not  inspired  by  the  expectation  of  gain  and  profit. 
Some,  professing  to  be  his  friends,  even  accused  him,  though  unjiistly, 
of  ignorance  in  selecting  a  piece  of  land  which,  they  said,  was  "unfit 
for  dilti  vation."  AI  though  this  charge  was  sufficiently  refuted  by 
the  fact  that  some  years  afterward  it  rose  to  many  times  its  original 
value,  it  nevertheless  frightened  the  managers  of  the  mercantile 
'   (20) 


LIFE    AT    NEUHOF.  21 

house  Avhich  had  supplied  him  with  money,  and  induced  them  tp 
withdraw  froni  the  undertakiiig.  Thus  Pestalozzi  was  left  alone  to 
grapple  with  financial  difficulties  which  beset  him  on  all  sides.  In- 
stead,  however,  of  concentratiiig  his  energies  on  his  own  afFairs,  he 
feit  he  coiild  only  revive  his  shattered  spirits  by  performing  an  act 
of  charity  and  devotion. 

The  Slipport  of  the  poor  is  still  a  question  of  vital  interest  tö 
the  governments  of  Europe,  and  it  was  particularly  so  during  the 
years  immediately  preceding  the  French  Kevolution.  At  that  time, 
the  wealth  of  the  country  was  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  the  priv- 
ileged  classes,  w^hile  the  poor  toiled  for  insufficient  wages,  with  no 
thought  for  the  future.  They  thus  became  a  sure  prey  for  the  work- 
house,  and  a  bürden  upon  the  Community.  The  introduction  of  cot- 
ton  manufactures  had  rendered  the  contrast  between  employer  and 
workman  still  more  striking.  This,  making  money  more  plenty, 
Jjrought  into  common  use  things  which  had  been  considered  as  lux- 
uries ;  and  the  poor,  in  attempting  to  keep  pace  with  the  rieh,  grad- 
ually  forgot  all  principles  of  economy,  became  intemperate  and 
wasteful,  and  were  consequently  often  reduced  to  helpless  poverty. 

The  only  relief  for  this  sufFering  supplied  by  the  Government  was 
the  introduction  of  poor-houses,  where  the  innocent  child  and  hard- 
ened  sinner,  the  helpless  sick  and  shiftless  vagabond,  were  herded. 
together.  They  were,  in  fact,  mere  feeding  establishments,  rather 
than  homes  for  the  unfortunate,  or  houses  of  reform  for  the  w^cked. 
The  occupants,  when  dismissed,  usually  returned  to  their  vicious  prac- 
tices,  which  soon  brought  them  back  again. 

It  was  for  this  growing  evil  that  the  ever-active  mind  of  Pesta- 
lozzi tried  to  find  a  remedy.  He  proposed  the  establishment  of 
schools  in  which  Instruction  in  manual  labor  should  be  combined 
with  the  ordinary  mental  and  moral  training.  After  having  advo- 
cated  his  views  publicly,  he  offered  his  house  and  farm  for  the  pur- 
pose  of  making  the  experiment.  He  soon  found  noble-hearted  and 
influential  friends  who  encouraged  him  in  his  undertaking,  and,  in 
1775^_Ave  find  him  at  the  head  of  an  ''Industrial  School  for  the 
"Poor,"  probably  the  first  school  of  its  kind  ever  conceived,  and  the 
mother  of  hundreds  now  existing  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic. 

To  make  such  a  scheme  a  success  was  certainly  no  light  under- 
taking, and  to  a  man  like  Pestalozzi  it  was  impossible ;  for  it  is 
obvious  that  to  combine  in  one  person  the  offices  of  manager,  school- 
master,  farmer,  manufacturer,  and  merchant,  was  beyond  the  power 
of  a  man  whose  enthusiasm  and  impatient  zeal  carried  him  with  irre- 
sistible  poAver  in  pursuit  of  one  grand   object,  and  would  not  allow 


.22  PESTALOZZI. 

him  to  stop  and  measure  every  inch  of  ground  over  which  he  luid 
to  go. 
!  The  children  sent  to  him  were  mostly  from  the  refuse  of  the  Com- 
munity, and  nearly  all  of  them  vicious,  lazy,  and  discontented. 
True,  they  worked  on  his  farm,  but  with  feeble  and  unskilled  hands, 
which  conduced  little  to  the  ini2)rovement  of  the  soil.  They  were 
also  engaged  in  the  weaving  of  cotton  cloth,  but  the  waste  in  mate- 
rial  and  the  mediocrity  of  the  work  more  than  balanced  the  profits. 
A^a  natural  consequence  of  these  conditions,  Pestalozzi  soon  became 
involved  in  debt,  from  which  he  was  partially  relieved  by  the  gener- 
osity  of  his  wife,  who  sacrificed  the  greater  part  of  her  property  in 
v^  his  behalf.  {  He  struggled  a  long  time  in  the  noble  cause  of  emanci- 
pating  the  poor,  and  in  the  end  became  poor  himself.  In  the  pro- 
cess,  however,  he  made  important  discoveries  in  the  realm  of  human 
knowledge,  and  in  the  principles  which  underlie  all  true  processes  of 
education — results  which  have  transmuted  his  individual  disappoint- 
ments  and  failures  into  blessings  for  the  world.  TQ_see_truth  throughj 
tlie_v§;il  of  jjae^s  own  errors  is__alreadj:  yictorj:,. 

In  1780  the  school  had  to  be  given  up.  In  spite  of  its  apparent 
failure,  the  feasibility  of  the  plan  has  since  been  triumphantly  vin- 
dicated  by  Emanuel  von  Fellenberg,  a  friend  and  cotemporary  of 
Pestalozzi,  to  whom  w^e  shall  again  revert.  After  five  years  of  in-  , 
effectual  toiling,  the  latter  was  left  alone,  poor  and  discouraged,  an 
object  of  pity  to  his  friends  and  of  contempt  to  his  detractors. 
"^'"  The  natural  buoyancy  of  his  spirits,  however,  did  not  allow  him  to 
give  himself  up  to  despair.  He  says :  r  lu  the  midst  of  the  wither- 
ing  sneers  of  my  fellow-men,  the  mighty  stream  of  my  heart  ebbed 
and  flowed  as  it  ever  had,  to  stop  the  sources  of  misery.  My  failure 
even  showed  me  the  truth  of  my  plans.  I  was  always  deceived  where 
nobody  was ;  and  where  all  Avere  deceived,  there  I  saw  light." 

Let  those  who  have  met  with  financial  losses  listen  to  Pestalozzi's 
words  of  resignation  uttered  at  that  time:  ''The  Christian  in  the 
strength  of  faith  and  love  considers  his  property — not  as  a  gift — but 
as  a  trust,  which  has  been  committed  to  his  band,  that  he  may  use 
it  for  the  good  of  others."  Truly  he  needed  this  strength  from 
above  ;  for  the  loss  of  his  funds  involved  the  loss  of  the  most  com- 
mon comforts  of  life.  In  the  midst  of  this,  his  noble  wife  was  pros- 
trated  with  a  severe  illness,  which  added  greatly  to  his  distress. 

At  this  time,  from  necessity  as  well  as  from  choice,  he  began  to 
write  articles  for  a  Swiss  Journal,  and  to  publish  books  in  which  he 
appealed  to  the  public  to  bestow  their  attention  upon  some  of  the 
most  sacred  interests  of  humanity.     From  1780  to  1798  were  pub- 


•i 


LIFE   AT    NEUHOF.  23 

lished  the  folloAviiig  books :  "The  Evening  Hours  of  a  Hermit;" 
''Leonard  and  Gertrude ; "  "Christopher  and  Eliza;"  ''Legislation 
and  Infanticide;"  "  Figures  to  my  Spelling-Book ; "  "  Livestigations 
on  the  Course  of  Nature  in  the  Development  of  the  Human  Race." 

Although  these  Avritings  are  all  distinguished  by  originality  and 
thought,  and  inspired  by  philanthropy,  not  one  of  them  has  made 
a  greater  Impression  and  acquired  raore  celebrity  than  "Leonard 
and  Gertrude" — a  populär  tale,  the  scenes  of  which  are  so  fresh 
and  life-like  that  they  at  once  enlist  the  feelings  of  the  reader  by 
presenting  a  picture  of  exalted  virtue  in  the  midst  of  crime  and 
error.  The  circumstances  to  which  this  work  owes  its  origin  are  not 
without  interest.  Füssli,  a  book-seller  of  Zürich  and  friend  of  Pes- 
talozzi, once  mentioned,  in  conversation  witli  his  brother,  the  artist, 
the  sad  condition  of  the  philanthropic  dreamer  at  Neuhof.  Füssli, 
the  painter,  who  was  turning  over  the  leaves  of  a  humorous  pamph- 
let,  suddenly  interrupted  his  brother  by  asking  who  was  the  author 
of  that  Satire.  On  being  told,  "Pestalozzi,"  he  said,  "The  man  has 
talent  and  originality,  and  can  help  himself  by  w^riting  books."  The 
book-seUer  thereupon  urged  Pestalozzi  to  write  a  populär  tale.  The 
latter,  without  any  positive  plan,  composed  some  pieces  in  imitation 
of  the  tales  of  Marmontel.  But  on  touching  the  question  of  domes- 
tic  education,  the  subject  seemed  to  grow  and  expand,  until,  throwing 
his  whole  heart  into  the  theme,  and  drawing  largely  from  the  treas- 
ures  of  his  experience,  he  produced  this  immortal  work.  Such  was 
the  Sensation  which  followed  its  publication  that  the  Government  of 
Berne  decreed  him  a  gold  medal.  This  he  was  obliged  to  turn  into 
cash  to  supply  his  family  with  the  necessaries  of  life. 

The  success  of  a  book  even  in  our  more  enlightened  age  is  not 
always  owing  to  its  merits.  It  may  be  admired  for  the  beauty  of 
its  style,  for  the  truthfulness  of  its  scenes  and  pictures  which  excite 
feelings  of  pleasure  and  approbation,  or  arouse  sympathy  and  indig- 
nation ;  but  should  the  author  appeal  for  aid  in  correcting  errors 
and  in  relieving  distress,  a  deaf  ear  is  turned  to  his  entreaties,  and 
his  importunities  are  considered  an  annoyance  and  a  bore.  This, 
Pestalozzi  experienced  with  his  work,  and  complains  that  the  highest 
encouragement  he  received  frqm  influential  persons  was  this:  "  If 
there  were  many  mothers  like  Gertrude,  many  school-masters  like 
Glülphi,  many  magistrates  like  Arner,  the  world  would  be  in  a 
better  condition." 

From  his  inability  to  buy  the  necessary  paper,  the  story  of  "Leon- 
ard and  Gertrude "  was  written  on  the  blank  leaves  of  an  old  account- 
book.     Whenever  he  added  any  thing  to  the  text  he  patched  little 


24  PESTALOZZI. 

scraps  of  paper  lipon  the  sheet,  which,  combined  with  his  illegible 
handwriting,  must  have  driveii  the  printers  nearly  to  despair.  The 
receipts  from  the  book  did  not  add  rauch  to  his  wealth,  as  will  be 
Seen  by  the  publisher's  conditions,  which  we  add  for  the  consolation 
of  poor  authors.  He  was  to  receive  three  dollars  per  sheet,  with 
twenty  dollars  additional  if  the  work  should  reach  a  second  edition. 

His  extreme  i^overty,  however,  resulted  chiefly  from  his  ignorance 
of  the  ways  of  the  world  and  from  his  self-forgetting  benevolence. 
The  following  anecdote  illustrates  both  these  characteristics.  When 
in  great  need  he  once  borrowed  from  a  friend  one  hundred  dollars, 
and  on  his  way  home  he  met  a  poor  peasant  wringing  his  hands  in 
great  distress.  On  being  asked  the  reason  of  his  grief,  he  answered, 
Avith  many  tears,  that  "  his  liouse  had  been  consumed  by  fire,  and 
he  was  without  shelter  and  home."  This  was  too  much  for  the  feel- 
ings  of  kind-hearted  Pestalozzi.  -Forgetting  his  own  errand,  he  put 
all  the  borrowed  money  into  the  band  of  the  peasant,  and  hurried 
off  to  his  own  desolate  home.  Arriving  there  without  money  and 
telling  his  story,  his  gentle  wife  asked  whether  he  knew  the  name 
of  the  fortunate  receiver.  "  I  do  not  know  the  man,"  he  said,  ''  but 
he  looked  so  poor  and  honest  that  I  am  sure  he  must  be  good." 
When  the  peasant  in  his  turn  was  asked  the  name  of  his  benefactor, 
he  answered:  ''I  do  not  know.  He  looked  odd  and  slovenly,  but 
had  such  a  benevolent  air  about  him  that  I  am  sure  he  must  be  a 
good  man."  Such  a  coincidence  of  opinion  and  absence  of  flattery 
between  persons  unknown  to  each  other  deserve  mention. 

In  his  domestic  relations  Pestalozzi  was  exceedingly  fortunate — 
Unding  there  repose  in  his  weariness,  sympathy  in  his  philanthropic 
schemes,  and  consolation  in  his  failures.  Of  his  wife  we  have  already 
spoken,  and  regret  that  we  can  not  do  füll  justice  to  her  worth. 
Born  of  wealthy  parents  and  marrying  against  their  wishes  a  man 
who  they  declared  would  never  be  able  to  support  her,  she  joyfuUy 
exchanged  her  worldly  treasures  for  those  which  came  from  the  rieh 
and  overflowing  heart  of  her  husband.  She  was  a  woraan  of  more 
than  ordinary  intelligence  and  culture,  and  from  the  diary  which 
she  kept  for  many  years  have  been  taken  many  interesting  details 
of  the  private  life  of  her  husband  and  herseif. 

From  Pestalozzis  diary,  kept  during  the  early  part  of  his  life  at 
Neuhof,  we  learn  that,  in  addition  to  his  other  labors,  he  bestowed 
much  attention  upon  the  wants,  emotions,  and  acts  of  his  little  son 
Jacob,  who  w^as  born  in  1770. 

In  his  eagerness  to  develop  the  mind  of  his  child,  we  fear  the  lov- 
ing  father  was   too  impatient  to  wait  for  natural  groAvth,  since  he 


LIFE    AT    NEUHOF.  25 

often  mentions  the  "inattention  of  Jacobli,^  and  his  aversion  to  useful 
knowledge."  This  result,  however,  he  had  the  justice  to  ascribe  to 
his  own  want  of  skill  in  presentation,  rather  than  to  any  natural 
distaste  for  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  child.  The  following  is 
an  instance :  After  a  futile  attempt  to  make  the  little  boy  repeat  the 
names  of  numbers,  before  the  idea  of  number  had  been  presented, 
he  exclaims,  "Oh,  why  have  I  committed  the  folly  of  naming  to  him 
words  without  nieaning ;  of  letting  him  §ay  three  without  first  showing 
him  the  idea  of  two  in  all  its  bearings  and  applications  ?  It  is  so 
difficult  to  come  back  from  error,  and  so  easy  to  walk  in  the  simple 
paths  of  truth." 

In  giving  the  child  object-lessons  he  does  not  spare  any  trouble. 
He  leads  the  little  fellow  along  the  bank  of  a  brook,  and  is  delighted 
with  the  childish  remark :  *'  The  water  comes  running  after,"  for 
which  he  teaches  him  to  Substitute  the  expression,  *^'  The  water  runs 
down  hin."  On  his  return  he  develojis  the  idea  of  ''up  hill."  In 
one  passage  of  his  diary  he  mentions  an  experience,  not  uncommon 
with  parents,  of  finding  that  his  child  asked  for  certain  things  under 
a  pretext  quite  different  from  the  true  reason.  For  instance,  Jacobli 
asks  his  father  to  carry  him  to  the  barn  so  that  he  might  there  recite 
his  lesson,  when  he  really  wanted  to  see  the  horse.  Another  passage 
shows  how  ready  Pestalozzi  ever  was  to  receive  Instruction  and  to 
profit  by  it,  though  expressed  in  homely  phrase  by  his  man-of-all- 
work,  Klaus.  When  speaking  to  him  of  the  excellent  memory  of 
his  son ;  "  It  is  good  enough,"  Klaus  replied,  ''but  love  and  courage 
for  learning  are  still  better.  Do'you  ever  think  of  that,  master?" 
"O  Klaus,"  answered  the  candid  master,  "all  learning  is  not  worth 
a  straw,  if  joy  and  courage  are  lost  thereby." 

These  seemingly  insignificant  scraps  from  a  diary  are  important 
merely  as  showing  from  what  sources  Pestalozzi  derived  his  deep  in- 
sight  into  the  nature  and  mind  of  childhood.  This  son,  his  only 
child,  upon  whom  he  lavished  so  much  love,  and  with  whom  he  took 
so  much  pains,  died  in  1801,  at  the  age  of  31  years. 

The  still  more  important  lessons  on  the  maral  and  practical  welfare 
of  domestic  life  he  learned  from  his  excellent  wife,  and  from  a  noble, 
though  uneducated,  woman,  who  was  his  housekeeper  for  forty  years, 
and  whose  useful  and  unostentatious  life  he  immortalized  in  his  char- 
acter  of  "  Gertrude."  In  the  following  passage  from  this  work,  he 
expresses  his  opinion  of  the  influence  of  such  a  woman:  "Thus  does 
God's  sun  walk  on  its  path  from  morning  tili  evening ;  the  eye  does 


-'•Little  Jacob. 


26  PESTALOZZI. 

not  perceive  any  of  its  steps,  nor  the  ear  hear  its  coiirse,  biit  at  its 
setting,  we  know  that  it  will  reäppear  to  warm  the  earth  until  its 
fruits  are  ripe.  This  great  mother  *  hovering  over  the  earth  is  the 
image  of  Gertrude,  and  of  every  wife  who  raises  the  domestic  circle 
(Wohnstube)  to  a  sanctuary  of  God,  and  she  deserves  heaven  for  her 
blessed  influence  on  the  beloved  ones  in  her  care." 

From  the  sanctuary  of  the  peaceful  household  we  will  now  pass  to 
more  stormy  scenes  of  historical  action,  which,  grave  and  monient- 
ous  as  they  were  for  the  fate  of  nations,  had  also  great  influence  on 
the  fate  of  Pestalozzi.  A  ÜgJX-P^ä^^t  like  him  could  not  remain' 
indifferent  to  that  ferment  of  ideas,  which,  as  the  tremulous  mur- 
niurs  of  the  earth  that  precede  a  volcanic  explosion,  heralded  the 
first  French  Revolution.  Society  was  hastening  to  its  dissolution, 
especially  in  France,  and  every  sound  of  freedom  that  arose  between 
the  Pyrenees  and  the  Jura  found  a  ready  echo  in  the  Alps.  Many 
parts  of  Switzerland  were  writhing  under  a  tyranny  not  less  vexa- 
tious  because  conducted  on  a  smaller  scale  by  a  number  of  petty 
despots. 

In  Order  that  American  readers  may  better  understand  the  Situation 
of  affairs  at  that  tinie,  it  must  be  stated  that  Switzerland,  although 
mainly  a  Republic,  consisting  of  thirteen  free  and  independent  can- 
tons,  owned  yet  some  undivided  territory.  This  section  was  subject 
to  the  sway  of  one  or  more  of  those  cantons,  and  governed  by  a 
bailiff,  wdiose  ideas  of  political  economy  seemed  to  be  to  make  him- 
self  rieh  at  the  expense  of  his  subjects.  Moreover,  the  cities  even 
in  the  independent  cantons  possessed  great  privileges  in  taxation, 
rej^resentation,  and  commerce,  over  the  inhabitants  of  the  country. 
The  liberty  of  the  press  was  often  rudely  assailed,  and  the  fact  that 
Pestalozzi  gave  to  one  of  his  publications  the  harmless  title  of  **  Fig- 
ures  to  my  Spelling-Book,"  w^hile,  in  the  form  of  fables,  it  contained 
keen  and  biting  allusions  to  political  matters,  seems  to  indicate  a 
State  of  affairs  not  altogether  unknown  under  despotic  governments. 

An  ardent  admirer  of  the  ideas  of  Rousseau  and  other  liberals, 
Pestalozzi  naturally  embraced  the  side  of  the  oppressed.  He  saw 
the  yawning  gulf  toward  which  the  tyrants  were  rushing  in  blind 
madness,  and  could  not  but  rejoice  to  hear  the  populär  voice  rising 
against  them. 

The  events  iramediately  preceding  the  bloody  French  Revolution 
at  last  roused   to    action  the   pent-up  feelings  of   Indignation.      A 


*  The  Gerraan  word  for  sun,  "/Son^ie,"  is  feminine,  which  explains  the  alle- 
gorical  use  of  sun  as  a  female. 


LIFE    AT    NEUHOF. 


27 


mighty  power  was  overtlirowii  by  the  populär  fury,  and  its  venal 
supporters,  the  aristocracy,  either  perished  or  were  exiled.  The  guil- 
lotine  worked  day  and  night.  The  lower  chisses  of  France  and  of 
some  other  countries,  emancipated  from  obedience  to  their  hereditary 
rulers,  set  at  naught  even  the  rules  of  justice  and  humanity,  and 
considered  liberty  permission  to  indulge  in  violent  passions.  Hence 
the  people  soon  engaged  in  a  war  of  self-destruction,  at  which  the 
better  part  of  humanity  shuddered. 

Pestalozzi's  mind  was  too  clear  and  far-seeing  not  to  note  the 
danger  that  threatened  when  liberty  thus  degenerated  into  license, ' 
and  the  scepter  of  power  was  wielded  by  those  who  could  not  govern  ■ 
themselves.  In  his  younger  days  he  had  cherished  the  idea  that  the 
welfare  of  the  people  could  be  obtained  merely  by  the  improvement 
of  outward  circumstances ;  but  he  now  saw  and  feit  the  iniportant 
truth,  that,  for  man  to  be  truly  free,  his  moral  nature  must  be  de- 
veloped  and  cultivated.  The  same  idea  is  expressed  in  the  precept 
of  Jesus:  "Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness, 
and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you." 

After  this,  Pestalozzi  expected  but  little  good  from  mere  political 
changes,  unless  they  were  accompanied  by  the  elevation  of  the 
masses,  and  his  whole  heart  impelled  him  in  the  direction  in  which 
this  could  best  be  accomplished.  Some  of  his  friends  and  a  few 
members  of  the  Government,  who,  like  him  seif,  Qßn^ideigcU^ducatiüii 
the  main  pilliJj:^jifUJbe^.S±avte,  were  willing  to  procure  him  an  influ- 
ential  position  ;  Ixuj^Jj^^ivjjsJeft^toPjiaxid^^ 
lar^^sii^tj^h^  he  was  destine^to  commencehisiiamort^l4alKtf^ — ^ 

The  year  1/98  saw  Switzerland  the  battle-ground  between  the 
French,  Austrian,  and  Russian  armies.  They  made  the  mountain 
Avalls  echo  and  reecho  the  thunder  of  their  cannon,  and  tinged  the 
Alpine  snows  and  the  waters  of  lovely  lakes  with  the  blood  of  the 
slain.  The  Swiss  were  compelled  to  take  sides  with  one  or  the  other 
of  the  contending  powers.  The  influence  of  France  was  very  great; 
but  her  centralizing  tendencies  were  odious  to  the  old  republics 
around  the  lake  of  Luzerne,  cherishing,  as  they  did,  their  national 
independence  with  the  tenacity  of  habit  and  the  pride  of  old  rec- 
ollections. 

After  France  had  vanquished  the  ill-organized  resistance  of  the 
Swiss,  who  were  divided  among  themselves,  they  forced  upon  the 
cantons  a  new  Constitution,  modeled  after  that  proclaimed  by  the 
Directorial  Government  of  France.  By  this  Constitution  the  power 
of  the  larger  cantons  was  diminished,  Avhile  several  of  the  smaller  ones 


28  PESTALOZZI. 

were  Consolidated  into  one,  and  deprived  of  a  i:)ortion  of  their  demo- 
cratic  institutions. 

In  most  places  the  people  accepted  their  fate  with  silent  and  unre- 
sisting  sorrow.  The  small  canton  of  Nidwaiden,  situated  at  the 
Southern  extremity  of  Lake  Luzerne,  and  bounded  by  high  mount- 
ains,  alone  sought  to  maintain  its  independence.  Enraged  at  this 
Opposition  to  its  plans,  the  French  Government  sent  its  legions  against 
the  unfortunate  Valley.  The  brave  mountaineers  rallied  for  the  de- 
fense of  their  homes,  and  it  was  only  after  great  losses  that  the  French 
were  able  to  force  their  way  through  the  mountain  passes.  In  re- 
venge  for  the  resistance,  the  invaders  commenced  a  horrible  massacre. 
The  whole  region  seemed  doomed  to  destruction.  Men,  and  often 
women  and  children,  w^ere  shot.  Every  village,  except  Stanz,  was 
burned,  and  this  one  was  only  spared  at  the  intercession  of  a  French 
officer. 

The  news  of  these  atrocities  produced  a  deep  Sensation  of  mingled 
indignation  and  pity  throughout  Switzerland,  and  the  Government  in-  - 
stituted  means  to  save  the  remnant  of  the  unfortunate  people  from 
starvation. 

In  Pestalozzi's  soul,  compassion  was  associated  with  an  overpowering 
desire  to  do  something  for  the  sufferers — especially  for  the  orphaned 
children,  who  now,  more  than  ever,  needed  the  healing  remedy  of  a 
sound  education.  His  resolution  was  at  once  taken ;  and,  without 
delay,  he  made  an  offer  to  the  Government  to  go  to  that  desolate 
Valley,  there  to  collect  and  instruct  the  poorest  of  the  children. 
His  offer  was  accepted,  and  henceforth  his  vocation  of  school-master - 
was  fixed. 

The  Helvetic  Government,  although  in  some  respects'the  tool  of 
France,  yet  counted  among  its  members  men  who  would  be  an  honor 
to  any  state — men  who  had  studied  the  wants  and  necessities  of  the 
people,  and  who  were  earnestly  devoted  to  the  task  of  finding  a 
remedy  for  existing  evils.  Of '  these  men,  Le  Grand,  President  of  the 
Council,  and  Stapfer,  Minister  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  deserve  the  high- 
est  place.  They  were  staunch  and  unflinching  supporters  of  Pestalozzi, 
and  their  conduct  is  in  strong  contrast  to  that  of  others,  who  weref 
laccustomed  to  judge  character  only  by  out  ward  success. 

The  report  submitted  by  Stapfer  to  his  colleagues  in  regard  to  Pes- 
talozzi's mission  to  Stanz  displays  the  views  of  a  wise  statesman,  as 
w^ell  as  of  an  intelligent  friend  of  education.  He  says  :  "  Permit  me, 
Citizen  Directors,  to  remind  you  on  this  occasion  of  the  principal 
points  in  the  plan  of  Pestalozzi ;  such  as  are  indicated  in  his  classical 
book,  'Leonard  and  Gertrude.'     He  unites  practical  application  with 


LIFE   AT    NEITHOF.  29 

elemeiitary  Instruction;  cleyelops   and  fortifies  early  habits  of  indus- 
try,  and  bestows  his  attention  upon  all  subjects  which  will  facilitate 
the  labor  of  the  working  classes.     A  good  education  must  enable  the 
pupil  to  secure  for  himself,  by  his  principles,  his  sentiments,  and  his 
actions,  a  path  to  happiness.     It  brings  into  play  all  the  faculties  of 
man,  and   takes  ad  van  tage  of  every  thing,  which,  from  his  earliest 
years,  may  have  an  infiuence  on  his  development  and  success  in  the 
different  positions  and  circumstances  in  which  he  may  find  himself 
placed.        .         .         .      Pestalozzi's  first  care  is  directed  toward  the 

physical  wants  of  the  child.     He  habituates  him  to  all  kinds  of  work, 
in  Order  that  no  effort,  no  pains,  which  his  future  vocation  may  im- 
pose,  shall  be  too  much  for  him.     He  wishes  to  keep  his  pupils  from 
all  useless  and  damaging  wants  and  desires,  and  to  impart  to  theni  a 
sincere  love  of  simplicity  and  a  contempt  for  all  that  is  superfluous 
and  enervating.     He  requires  them   to  practice   rural  and  domestic 
occupations,   in   order   to  inspire  them  with   love  for  order  and  an 
activity  directed  toward  the  useful.     The  pupils,  by  seeing  the  re- 
sults  of  their  work,  learn  to  esteem  themselves,  and  the  parents  have 
before  their  eyes  an  example  of  a  w^ll-organized  household  and  of 
moral  education.        .......... 

To  the  question,  'Is  the  plan  of  Citizen 
Pestalozzi  contrary  to  the  unity  or  uniformity  of  a  System  of  public 
education?'  I  would  reply,  if  the  project  succeeds,  it  must  be  consid- 
ered  a  Model  School,  and  be  productive  of  others  of  the  same  kind. 
If  it  does  not  succeed,  it  will  at  least  have  supplied  new,  interesting, 
and  useful  experience." 

In  this,  as  in  other  addresses  of  the  same  kind,  the  warm-hearted- 
Stapfer  alludes  to   Pestalozzi   as   "  that  grand,  unappreciable  man,   1 
w^hose  ardor  for  the  improvement  of  his  fellow-man,  age  has  not  been    l 
able  to  dampen,  and  whose  heart  ever  burns  ^ith  a  sacred  fire  for  j 
the  human  race."  u 

Stapfer  portrayed  the  man  correctly.  Faithful  to  the  declaration 
made  in  the  letter  to  his  beloved,  which  we  have  already  quoted, 
and  forgetting  his  own  misery  and  wants,  in  his  compassion  for  the 
destitute  orphans  of  Stanz,  he  entered  upon  his  new  work  with  zeal 
and  enthusiasm. 


CHAPTER    III. 
LIFE  AT  STANZ. 

PESTALOZZrS  resoliition  to  go  to  Stanz  seems  to  have  been  one 
of  those  inspired  acts  which  are  not  weighed  in  the  scale  of  reason. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  town  were  ^overned  by  priests,  from  whom 
little  help  and  sympathy  could  be  expeoted.  Add  to  this  the  gen- 
eral  devastation  of  the  conntry,  the  want  of  food,  shelter,  and  other 
necessaries  of  life,  the  absence  of  school  furniture  and  apparatns, 
and  the  reader  can  judge  whether  it  offered  many  inducements  to  a 
man  fifty-three  years  of  age,  of  frail  physical  Constitution,  and  weary 
from  disappointment  and  care.     The  saying  of  a  philosopher,  that 

-^  "  great  ideas  spring  from  the  heart,"  was  applicable  to  him.  It  was 
love  that  urged  him  to  ponder  over  the  means  of  helping  his  poorer 
brethren ;  love  that  enabled  him  to  persevere  in  his  efforts  under  the 
most  perplexing  difficulties.  .  When  speaking  of  his  resolution,  he 
says :  ''I  knew  not  exactly  what  I  could  accomplish,  but  I  knew 
what  I  wished — to  die  or  to  carry  out  my  plans." 

The  Government  assigned  him  for  his  school  an  empty  convent,  in 
which  some  alterations  were  indispensable.  When  it  became  known 
that  the  convent  was  open,  even  before  the  kitchen,  school,  and  bed- 
rooms  were  completed,  poor  orphan  children  flocked  thither  in  large 
numbers.  The  appearance  of  these  ragged,  neglected  little  ones 
would  have  been  revolting  to  almost  any  other  man ;  but  Pestalozzi 
saw  before  him  immortal  souls  which  he  might  save  from  the  sloth 
of  mental  and  moral  perdition.  Assisted  by  his  housekeeper,  he 
wisely  began  his  task  by  inculcating  the  necessity  of  cleanliness  and 
Order.  He  then  commenced  his  educational  work  with  an  amount 
of  vigor,  self-forgetfulness,  and  enthusiasm,  such  as  the  world  has 
seldom  seen  combined  in  the  soul  of  one  frail  mortal. 

^      The  government  of  the  school,  even  when  punishment  was  neces- 

sary,  was  chiefly  based  on  love  and  the  power  of  good  example.     His 

own   touching  account  gives  the  best  idea  of  this:    "I  was  among 

them  from   morning  tili   evening.     Every  thing  tending  to  benefit 

(30) 


LIFE    AT    STANZ. 


31 


body  and  soul,  I  administered  with  my  own  hand.  Every  assistance, 
every  lesson  they  received,  came  from  me.  My  hand  was  joined  to 
theirs,  and  my  smile  accompanied  theirs.  They  seemed  out  of  the 
World  and  away  from  Stanz ;  they  were  with  me  and  I  with  them. 
We  shared  food  and  drink.  I  had  no  household,  no  friends,  no  serv- 
ants  aroimd  me;  I  had  only  them.  Was  their  health  good,  I 
enjoyed  it  with  them;  were  they  sick,  I  stood  at  their  side.^  I  slept 


View  of  Stanz. 


in  their  midst.  I  was  the  last  to  go  to  bed  and  the  first  to  rise.  I 
prayed  with  them,  and  taught  them  in  bed  tili  they  feil  asleep." 

We  see  by  this  that  his  chief  aim  was  to  carry  out  one  of  his 
most  cherished  ideas — to  impart  to  the  school  the  character  of  a 
family.  Like  a  good  mother,  he  relied  less  on  words  than  on  ac- 
tions,  to  enlist  the  feelings  and  excite  the  sympathy  of  the  children. 
The  fact  that  he  worked  under  less  favorable  circumstances  than 
most  mothers  have  to  encounter,  only  tends  to  increase  our  admira- 
tion  for  his  wonderful  insight  into  the  mainsprings  of  human  actions, 
and  for  the  motives  which  stimulated  him.  He  talked  but  little 
about  abstruse  questions  of  morality  or  religion ;  hut^he_nev^}:^j^- 
Je£ter[_pn_9pp3ti]tü4^  to^-^^^j^^^^^^ ^  r^ligioH-a^-^^rmtion  oi;^_to^^ncourage 
moralacti^ns. 

The  following  incident  will  illustrate  his  method  of  procedure :  In 
1799  the  neighboring  town  of  Altorf  was  consumed  by  fire.     Pesta- 


?!  \ 


32  PESTALOZZI. 

lozzi,  Hearing  the  news,  assemblecl  his  children  and  gave  to  them  a 
description  of  the  sad  calamity.  He  called  their  attention  particu- 
larly  to  the  many  children  left  homeless,  and  a  prey  to  hunger  and 
want.  He  then  reminded  them  of  their  own  condition  some  weeks 
before.  After  thus  exciting  the  sympathy  of  the  children,  he  asked: 
''Shall  I  not  try  to  get  permission  of  the  Government  to  receive 
some  of  these  unfortunate  ones  into  your  honie  ?  "  The  children  cried, 
as  with  one  voice,  '' Yes,  yes."  Not  wishing  to  take  ad  van  tage  of 
the  first  Impulses  of  their  feelings,  he  appealed  to  their  reason. 
''Remember,  children,"  he  said,  "  food  and  money  are  scarce;  only 
little  is  given  for  your  support.  If  they  come,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  have  your  rations  diminished,  and  to  share  your  beds  with  them. 
Now,  choose."  The  children  cried,  as  before,  ''Let  them  come, 
Father,  we  will  willingly  share  with  them  all  we  have." 

Such  scenes  must  have  been  to  Pestalozzi  a  reward  for  all  his  har- 
assing  care ;  for  they  showed  the  power  of  love  and  faith,  and  the 
importance  of  an  education  which  quickens  sympathy  and  exhibits 
its  hallo wing  influence  in  action. 

With  a  heart  large  enough  to  embrace  them  all,  he  stood  in  their 
midst  like  the  father  of  a  family.  Under  his  loving  Instruction,  his 
pupils  became  to  him  affectionate  children,  and  to  each  other,  broth- 
ers  and  sisters;  and,  as  in  a  w^ell-ordered  household,  each  was 
intent  upon  serving  the  interests  of  all.  This  spirit  was  particularly 
manifest  during  the  hours  of  Instruction,  when  you  niight  see  chil- 
dren teaching  other  children — not  in  the  spirit  of  little  despots,  as  is 
too  often  manifest  in  schools  of  this  character,  but  in  the  spirit  of 
kindness  and  forbearance.  "If  ever  so  small  a  child,"  says  Pesta- 
lozzi, "  knew  a  few  letters  more  than  others,  he  seated  himself  between 
two  of  them,  embraced  them  with  his  little  arms,  and  taught  them 
that  of  which  they  were  Ignorant." 

Hitherto  we  have  dwelt  principally  on  the  means  and  effects  of  the 
moral  training,  which,  if  rightly  understood,  is  the  basis  of  sound 
intellectual  growth.  It  can  not  be  denied  that  love  and  respect  for 
the  teacher  and  interest  in  the  thing  presented,  combined  with  peace 
and  Order,  are  the  most  powerful  incentives  to  intellectual  effort. 
We  have  always  admired  the  advice  given  to  teachers  by  Horace 
Mann,  that,  "  in  case  of  any  disorder  in  school,  or  any  act  calculated 
to  disturb  the  feelings  of  any  portion  of  the  class,  or  of  the  teacher, 
the  teaching  should  be  suspended  for  the  moment.  It  is  better  to 
leave  the  thread  of  ideas  interrupted  than  to  suffer  any  wheel  of  the 
moral  machinery  to  get  rusty."  In  schools  where  an  opposite  plan 
is  followed,  and  where  the  feelings  and  moral  sentiments  are  sacri- 


P.  3. 


34  •  PESTALOZZI. 

ficed  for  mere  intellectual  attainments,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  in- 
tellectual  striicture  itself  will  rest  on  a  frail  and  iinsafe  fouiidation. 

Pestalozzi ,  discarded  all  mental  Operations  whicli  did  not  aim  to 
elicit  truth.  He  had  no  respect  for  those  intellectual  feats  which 
consist  chiefly  in  a  skillful  handling  of  words,  and  are  not  based  on 
the  children's  own  Observation  and  experience. 

Very  appropriately,  says  Biber:  ''As  Pestalozzi  based  all  matters 
liscipline  on  tlie  primary  motive  of  all  virtue,  love ;  so  in  matters 
of  Instruction,  he  started  with  the  source  of  all  knowledge,  the 
Clements. 

"He  did  not  bürden  their  minds  with  the  memory  of  words  whose 
meaning  they  did  not  understand ;  but  he  led  them  gradually  to  the 
discovery  of  truths,  which,  in  the  nature  of  things,  they  could  never 
forget.  Instead  of  building  up  a  dead  mind  and  a  dead  heart  on 
the  ground  of  a  dead  letter,  he  drew  forth  life  to  the  mind  and  life 
to  the  heart  from  the  fountain  of  life  within,  and  tJms  establisJied  a 
neiü  art  of  education,  in  ivhich  to  folloiv  liim,  reqiiires,  on  the  paH  of  the 
teacher,  not  a  change  of  System,  but  a  change  of  State" 

His  school-room  was  totally  unprovidec|  with  books,  and  his  appa- 
ratus  consisted  of  himself  and  his  pupils.  He  was  forced  to  adapt 
thcse  means  to  the  accomplishment  of  his  end.  He  directed  his 
whole  attention  to  those  natural  Clements  which  are  found  in  the 
mind  of  every  child  He  taught  numbers  instead  of  figures ;  living 
Sounds  instead  of  dead  characters ;  deeds  of  faith  and  love  instead 
of  abstruse  creeds ;  substance  instead  of  shadow ;  realities  instead  of 
signs. 

In  many  particulars,  Pestalozzis  work  would  not  apjDear  to  advan- 
tage  in  the  light  of  the  present  time.  Its  excellence  consisted  chiefly 
^inhis___pow^j:^^t^-.^e3^^  and  to  stimulate 

them  to  mental  exertion.  This  power  came,  in  part,  from  his  own 
personality,  and,  in  part,  from  the  means  which  he  employed  to 
attract  their  attention  and  direct  their  thoughts. 

The  school,  however,  J[acked^tJi^__oj^ier_and_^^[^t^  which  are  con- 
sidered  indispensable  to  success  at  tljjg^_pj:^sß»tcilaiJ  These  deficien- 
eies  were  excusable,  considering  that  Pestalozzi  was  the  sole  teacher 
of  eighty  pupils,  bound  to  no  course  of  study,  and  entirely  without 
experience  in  regard  to  the  arrangement  o.f  labor  and  time.  His 
main  object  seemed  to  be  to  ascertain  the  kind  of  Instruction 
most  needed  by  the  children,  and  how  it  could  be  based  upon 
their  previous  knowledge.  When  he  saw  them  interested,  he  pur- 
sued  the  same  topic  for  hours,  and  left  it  only  when  the  interest 
flagged  or  the  point  Avas  attained.     To  keep  up  the  interest,  he  fre- 


LIFE    AT   STANZ.  35 

qiiently  varied  the  form  of  the  exercise,  treating  the  subject  now  in 
a  playful,  now  in  a  practical,  manner,  and  left  off  only  to  resume  it 
at  a  more  favorable  time.  They  had  no  lessons  to  commit,  but  they 
had  always  something  to  investigate.  They  gained  little  positive 
knowledge,  but  their  love  of  knowledge  and  power  of  acquiring  it 
increased  daily. 

At  the  end  of  a  single  term  the  result  of  this  course  of  instruction 
was  manifestly  great.  The  children  had  improved  so  much,  both  phys-' 
ically  and  morally,  that  Pestalozzi  says :  "  They  seemed  entirely  differ- 
ent  beings  from  those  I  had  received  six  months  before,  neglected, 
ragged,  and  filthy."  But  yet  he  stood  entirely  alone.  There  was  no 
admiiing_schöaU-eoeM»ittee  to  sound  his  praises ;  not  even  one  to  visit 
his  school  on  days  of  examination,  or  when  special  preparation  had 
been  made  for  their  reception ;  n<xJ)J?öiJi©ii— pödagogue  to  give  him 
countenance  and  advice;  and  no^jßäxeRts  who  fully  appreciated  the 
good  work  done,  or  were  grateful  for  the  kindness  and  self-sacrifice 
which  prompted  it.  On  the  contrary,  the  people  were  both^_super- 
stjtioi  1  s  ^n d  \^]}(wnn t ^  and  feit  a^^reat^^isixust  for  the  heretic  teacher, 
who,  they  feared,  might  lead  their  children  to  perdition. 

In  many  respeets  his  experience  here  was  a  repetition  of  that  at 
Neuhof,  where  he  had  to  deal  with  the  very  lowest  classes.of  the  com- 
munity.  To  show  the  trials  to  which  he  was  subjected,  and  the  pa- 
tience  and  forbearance  which  he  was  obliged  to  exercise  continually, 
we  will  quote  his  own  words.  "Mothers  who  supported  themselves 
by  open  beggary,  would,  upon  visiting  the  establishment,  find  some  cause 
of  disccmtent,  and  take  their  children  away,  because  'they  would  not 
be  worse  off  at  home.'  Sundays  especially,  fathers,  mothers,  and  other 
relatives  came  to  the  house,  and,  taking  the  children  aside  in  some 
Corner  or  in  the  street,  elicited  complaints  of  every  kind,  and  either 
took  them  aw^ay  or  left  them  peevish  and  discontented.  Many  were 
brought  to  the  asylum  with  no  intention  but  to  have  them  clothed; 
which  being  done,  they  were  removed  without  any  apparent  reason. 
Others  reqjiixed  pay  for  j£axing  their  children,  in  order  to  compensate 
for  the  diminished  produce  of  their  beggary.  Others  bargained  for 
how  many  days  in  the  week  they  could  take  them  out  for  begging 
errands.  Such  proposals  being  rejected,  they  went  away  indignant, 
declaring  that  unless  their  terms  w^ere  accepted  they  would  soon 
take  away  their  children.  Several  months  passed  in  this  constant 
fluctuation  of  pupils,  which  rendered  the  adoption  of  any  settled 
plan  of  discipline  or  instruction  utterly  impossible." 

When  Henry  Zschokke,  at  that  time  Commissioner  of  the  Helvetic 
Government,  and  afterward  a  celebrated  novelist,  visited  Stanz  in  the 


36  PESTALOZZI. 

spring  of  1789,  he  statecl,  that  "nobody  kept  Company  with  poor  Pes- 
talozzi, and,  with  a  few  honorable  exceptions,  he  was  considered 
either  a  good-natured  fool  or  a  poor  devil,  who  was  compelled,  by 
indigence,  to  perform  the  menial  office  of  school-master." 

What  was  it,  then,  that  kept  his  spirit  aUve,  and  seemed  to  impart 
to  his  very  body  the  Jl^uo^ancy,_and,^strengt^  It  niust  have 

been  the  cwjsciüju*H«sij9£,ilDi4ig._g^  mu]^  ^^^jrigioii  of  t.li^__eternal  prin- 
ciplesjif-^gcliKiation,  c\)nibined^j\1th_an^^  confidence  in  jjo^l 

and  the  possibiHty  -oljimproying  the  human_raee.     Let  those  who  now 
i  witness  the  mighty  changes  tliat  have  taken  place  in  education  pay 
grateful  tribute  tothe  n)f^,u^.,^vJxQyfi]:atJ^]LQkjü:i^^ 

tems  of  the  old  school  routine,  and  ^)Jiö,.s]iaiV£d^^tlie^j)ath  to  those  de- 
lightful  regions  of  thought,  in  whose  well-tilled  soil  rieh  harvests  will 
ever  be  reaped  by  the  patient  laborer. 

To  the  philanthropist  and  friend  of  education  Stanz  will  always  be  a 
hallowed  spot,  exhibiting,  as  it  does,  the  picture  of  this  venerable 
teacher  sitting  among  the  outcast  children,  aiiiiiuU^^3j^^-4iie,.-*<^iX^ii'it^ 
ji£jGlMdst,  and  by  a  great  idea  which  not  only  filled  his  own  soul,  but 
also  inspired  those  who  witnessed  his  labors. 

While  Pestalozzi  was  thus  endeavoring  to  heal  the  woiinds  which 
ignorance,  neglect,  and  the  evils  of  war  had  inflicted  upon  an  unfortu- 
nate  people,  the  contending  armies  of  Europe  still  made  Sw^tzerland 
their  battle-ground.  More  than  once  the  rumor  that  the  enemy  were 
approaching  the  secluded»  valley  of  Nidwaiden,  had  caused  such  fright 
and  alarm  that  the  inhabitants  of  Stanz  and  the  children  of  the  school 
fled  in  all  directions. 

In  June,  1799,  a  French  Company,  after  having  met  with  a  reverse, 
appeared  in  reality,  and,  without  ceremony,  took  possession  of  tliß^on- 
vent  which  Pestalozzi  had  hitherto  occupied.  As  there  was  no  appeal 
from  force,  he  relinquished  his  labors,  and,  after  having  supplied 
his  beloved  pupils  with  clothing  from  the  remaining  part  of  the  fund 
granted  for  that  purpose,  he  took  leave  of  them  amidst  tears  and  sobs. 
His  own  feelings  are  best  expressed  in  a  letter  to  his  friend  Gessner: 
"  Imagine  with  what  sensations  I  left  Stanz.  Thus  might  feel  a  ship- 
Avrecked  sailor,  who  sees  land  after  weary  and  restless  nights,  and  draws 
the  breath  of  Coming  life,  but  is  again  thrown  into  the  immensity  of 
Space.  This  was  my  own  copditfcn.  Think  of  the  fullness  of  my 
heart,  the  greatness  of  my  plans,  my  success  and  my  ruin,  the  trem- 
bling  of  my  disordered  nerves,  and  my  mute  agony." 

After  this  painful  event  Pestalozzi  repaired  to  the  rural  home  of  his 
faithful  and  sympathizing  friend  Zehender,  in  the  Canton  of  Berne, 
where  he  spent  some  time  in  regaining  his  shattered  health.     In  the 


LIFE   AT   STANZ.  37 

immediate  neighborhood,  lipon  a  plateau  above  the  beautiful  lake  of 
Thun,  are  the  baths  of  Gurnigel.  The  scenery  in  this  region  is  among 
the  finest  in  Europe.  The  eye  looks  down  u]3on  a  wide  piain  strewn 
with  hamlets  and  villages,  and  bounded  by  the  snow-capped  summits 
of  the  Bernese  Alps,  which  Byron  calls, 

"Those  palaces  of  nature,  whose  vast  walls  " 
Have  pinnacled  in  cloud  their  snowy  scalps, 
And  throned  Eternity  in  icy  lialls 
Of  cold  sublimity,  where  forms  and  falls 
The  avalanche,  that  thunderbolt  of  snow." 

Respecting  this  visit,  Pestalozzi  says:  "I  looked  with  admiration 
from  the  height  of  Gurnigel  upon  the  immense  Valley,  with  its  mount- 
ain  border;  and  yet  I  thought,  at  this  moment,  more  of  the  badly 
instrueted  people  it  contained  than  of  the  beautiful  scenery.     L-göuId 

not^jiüL.wouldJ;Ji^^-4^iiliüut-^^ 

With   this  determination,  he   called  upon  some   of  his  influential    i 
friends  and  consulted  them   in  regard   to  his  future  prospects.     He 
was^^£Oor^jjii^_£Iii4£iät^  ai}4._j^ei-4s>eGJji«^iasi4g,-^n^-^^  as 

ever.  His  experiment  at  Stanz,  though  apparently  a  failure,  he  con- 
sidered  a  success,  as  his  experience  there  had  denionstratedJhe^,£r^i- 
^^bilit^_^ii£Jiis_ja3£iplßs.  His  only  demand  was  for  employment  in  a 
school,  no  matter  how  low  its  grade.  A  friend,  hearing  of  a  vacancy 
in  a  school  at  Burgdorf,  a  small  town  in  the  Canton  of  Berne,  Pesta-  \ 
lozzi  immediately  set  out  for  that  town  to  secure  the  place,  if  possible. 


CHAPTER    IV. 
LIFE  AT  BUKGDOKF. 

n^HE  Situation  for  which  Pestalozzi  applied,  and  which  he  obtained, 
-L  was  that  of  assistant  in  a  school,  which,  according  to  the  exclusive 
notions  of  the  time,  was  set  apart  for  the  children  of  parents  not  Citi- 
zens of  the  place.  As  these  people  generally  belonged  to  the  poorer 
classes,  they  could  not  afford  to  pay  a  e  d  school-teacher ;  and  the 
sum  which  Pestalozzi  received  in  his  new  Situation  was  very  small. 
Even  in  this  humble  and  subordinate  position,  he  was  not  permitted  to 
labor  in  peace.  The  head  master  perceiving  that  Pestalozzi  succeeded 
in  gaining  the  attention  and  aifection  of  the  pupils  in  a  greater  degree 
than  he,  set  about  devising  means  of  ridding  himself  of  so  dangerous 
a  rival.  He  informed  the  patrons  that  his  assistant  did  not  know  how 
to  read  and  spell  correctly,  and  that  he  was  opposed  to  teaching  the 
Heidelberg  Catechism.  There  wassometruth  in  the  former  accusation, 
as  Pestalozzi  very  candidly  confessed,  and  a  great  deal  in  the  latter, 
since  he  never  was  a  friend  of  that  dograatic  machinery  by  which  sen- 
timents  are  put  in  the  mouth  of  the  child,  of  the  meaning  of  which  he 
has  not  the  slightest  idea.  His  apparent  delinquency  in  this  latter 
point  proved  fatal  to  his  interests,  and  he  was  expelled  from  his  hum- 
ble Situation, 

^  By  no  means  discouraged,  he  applied  for  occupation  in  a  school  where 
children  from  five  to  ten  years  of  age  were  taught  by  an  old  dame. 
His  application  was  successful,  probably  because  it  was  belle ved  that 
he  could  do  less  mischief  with  little  children  than  with  older  ones ;  and 
because  the  old  lady  w^ould  thus  be  relieved  of  the  labor  of  teaching. 
In  teaching  reading  he  adopted  the  phonetic  method,  in  which  the 
sound  and  not  the  name  of  the  letter  is  given — an  Innovation,  effected 
not  without  Opposition.  The  results  obtained  caused  him  great  delight, 
which  was  marred  only  by  the  fear  that  he  might  again  be  removed 
through  the  prejudices  of  the  parents  and  authorities.  This  time,  how- 
ever,  he  was  agreeably  disappointed.  The  honor  of  giving  the  first 
public  testimony  of  the  value    of  Pestalozzi's   educational   principles 

(38) 


LIFE    AT    BUPvGDOEF. 


39 


belongs  to  the  school  committee  of  Burgdorf.  It  was  stated  in  this 
report:  "He  has  shown  what  powers  are  hidden  in  the  feeble  cliild, 
and  in  what  manner  they  can  be  developed.  The  pupils  have  made 
astonishing  progress  in  some  branches,  thereby  proving  that  every  child 
is  capable  of  doing  somethmg  if  the  teacher  is  able  to  draw  out  his 
talent,  and  awaken  the  powers  of  his  mind  in  the  order  of  their  nat- 
ural development." 

This  testimony  refers,  not  only  to  exercises  in  speUing,  but  to  all 
those  by  which  Pestalozzi  cultivated  the  Observation  and  ingenuity  of 


View  of  Burgdorf. 


his  pupils.  Some  of  these  —  as,  object-lessons  —  were  entirely  out  of 
the  ränge  of  the  ordinary  school  routine.  In  making  such  innovations, 
Pestalozzi  had  little  difficulty  with  the  children,  for  they  always  enjoy 
such  teaching;  but  it  was  hard  to  convince  the  parents  that  their  chil- 
dren could  profit  by  any  Instruction  that  had  not  the  scholastic  character 
to  which  they  had  been  accustomed.  A  man  once  said  to  him,  "  Why, 
these  exercises  are  so  simple  that  my  wife  and  I  could  give  them  at 
home."  "  The  very  thing  ydu  ought  to  do,"  replied  Pestalozzi,  delighted 
to  have  an  opportunity  to  speak  in  behalf  of  domestic  education. 

In  the  year  1800,  occurred  an  important  event,  which  drew  Pestalozzi 
out  of  his  isolated  position,  and  surrounded  him  with  friends  and  associ- 
ates,  who,  identifying  their  work  with  his,  must  be  considered  indis- 
pensable  links  to  his  well-earned  reputation. 


40  PESTALOZZI. 

Hermann  Krüsi,'-'  a  young  man  engaged  in  the  village  school  of  Gais, 
Appenzell,  was  induced  by  a  noble-minded  man,  Fischer  of  Berne, 
to  take  Charge  of  a  number  of  poor  boys  of  that  canton,  and  transfer 
them  to  Burgdorf  The  parents  of  these  children,  on  account  of  the 
embarrassment  caused  by  the  war,  were  too  poor  to  educate  or  even 
Support  them;  therefore,  an  appeal  was  made  to  those  who  were  less 
unfortunate.  The  inhabitants  of  Burgdorf  kindly  received  these  little 
waifs,  and  Krüsi  remained  as  their  teacher. 

Up  to  the  time  of  his  arrival  at  Burgdorf,  Krüsi  had  never  heard 
of  Pestalozzi,  but  an  acquaintance  soon  sprang  up  between  them. 
After  the  death  of  Fischer,  Pestalozzi,  who  had  been  devising  the  plan 
of  starting  a  private  school,  made  the  proposition  that  they  two  should 
unite  their  schools,  and  enter  into  partnership.  The  proposition  was 
accepted,  and  a  school  opened. 

Pestalozzi  and  Krüsi  soon  found  that,  with  differences  of  character, 
they  were  kindred  in  heart  and  purpose.  They  occupied  the  Castle  of 
the  town,  a  huge  old  building,  which  stood  on  a  rocky  eminence  and 
had  formerly  served  as  a  residence  for  the  governor  of  the  district. 
The  changes  attending  the  revolution,  by  abolishing  the  office  of  gov- 
ernor, had  made  the  building  useless  to  the  town,  and  it  was  offered  to 
Pestalozzi  rent  free.  He  was  left  to  his  own  efforts  to  supply  furniture 
and  to  attract  pupils ;  but  he  soon  gauied  the  confidence  of  the  people, 
and  his  principles  began  to  command  the  attention  of  enlightened  men. 

As  the  number  of  pupils  increased,  and  more  assistance  was  needed, 
Tobler  and  Niederer,  friends  of  Krüsi,  and  Citizens  of  the  mountain- 
ous  canton  Appenzell,  joined  the  little  band  to  teach  the  subjects, 
Keligion,  History,  and  Geography.  Still  later  Buss,  a  self-taught  man, 
from  Würtemberg,  was  employed  to  teach  Form  and  Drawing. 

The  disinterested  and  enthusiastic  manner  in  which  these  young  men 
rallied,  like  disciples,  around  their  venerable  friend  and  master,  can 
only  be  explained  by  their  conviction  that  they  were  Instruments  in  an 
immortal  w^ork.  For  some  time  the  only  reward  they  received  was  the 
approval  of  their  own  consciences;  for  they  voluntarily  resigned  their 
salaries,  in  order  to  relieve  Pestalozzi  from  the  pecuniary  embarrass- 
ment under  which  he  labored. 

A  passage  from  one  of  Krüsi's  letters,  written  at  that  time,  contains 
an  almost  prophetic  conviction  of  success :  "  Our  work  advances.  The 
seed  of  a  better  Instruction,  conforming  to  the  faculties  of  the  human 
mind,  has  germinated.  It  w^ill  bear  fruit  such  as  no  one,  not  even 
Pestalozzi  himself,  dares  to  anticipate."  This  enthusiasm  manifested 
_/ 

*Father  of  the  author. 


LIFE    AT    BURGDOEF.  41 

by  teachers  and  pupils  was,  no  doiibt,  one  of  the  main  causes  of 
success;  and  this  siiccess  made  the  Institution  widely  known,  espe- 
cially  throiighout   Switzerland   and  Germany. 

The  assistance  which  Pestalozzi  received  from  his  younger  teachers 
enabled  him  to  prepare  systematic  courses  of  instruction  in  the  differ- 
ent  branches  of  study.  Kriisi  worked  out  exercises  in  Mental  Arith- 
metic  and  Language ;  Buss  in  Geometry  and  Drawing ;  Tobler  in  Ge- 
ography ;  while  Niederer  tried  to  analyze  the  principles  of  the  method, , 
free  it  from  its  experimental  character,  and  raise  it  to  the  dignity  of  a 
great  fact  worthy  of  the  attention  of  governments  and  legislatures. 

These  courses  of  study  Avere  tested  by  two  years  of  trial  in  their 
school,  carefuUy  revised  by  Pestalozzi,  and  then  published.  They  did 
not,  however,  achieve  the  result  which  their  authors  had  hoped.  Those 
teachers  who  were  not  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  method  could  not 
make  use  of  the  exercises,  however  systematically  arranged ;  while  those 
who  possessed  the  right  principle  required  neither  the  book  nor  the 
exercises,  but  were  able  to  frame  a  course  for  themselves.  Even  at 
the  present  day,  the  books  which  allow  the  teacher  who  is  able  to  use 
theni  well  the  most  liberty,  are  not  those  which  obtain  the  patronage 
of  the  public;  but  rather  those  that  save  the  trouble  of  reflection,  and 
place  the  least  obstruction  to  the  machinery  of  recitation. 

It  was  the  unanimous  testimony  of  all  who  were  engaged  in  Pesta- 
lozzi's  school  at  Burgdorf,  that  the  time  spent  there  was  the  most  prof- 
itable and  pleasant  period  of  their  lives. 

The  growing  fame  of  the  Institution  attracted  to  it,  not  merely  boys, 
but  often  men  of  mature  years,  who  left  honorable  and  remunerative  em- 
ployment  in  order  to  study  the  method  there  pursued.  /  Far  from  being 
ashamed  of  the  elementary  character  of  the  exercises,  these  men  were 
candid  enough  to  confess  that  their  own  education  had  been  neglected  in 
these  very  Clements,  and  that  they  were  fully  convinced  that  the  true 
System  of  education  must  be  built  upon  a  foundation  of  thorough  ele- 
mentary instruction. 

A  young  man  who  visited  Pestalozzi  after  having  completed, 
with  apparent  success,  his  studies  at  a  German  university,  was  made 
aw^are  of  this  truth  in  one  of  his  walks  along  the  river  Emme,  which 
bathes  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  the  castle  Stands.  Perceiving 
that  a  boy  picked  up  from  among  the  various  pebbles  of  the  river 
only  those  which  belonged  to  the  limestones,  he  exclaimed:  "That 
boy  makes  me  ashamed  of  my  knowledge !  All  the  catalogue  of  sci- 
entific names  which  I  have  in  my  head  would  not  enable  me  to  select 
the  limestones  from  others."  A  distinguished  man  of  Sweden  showed 
his  faith  in  the  work  of  Pestalozzi  by  traveling  all  the  way  from  Stock- 


42  PESTALOZZI. 

holm  to  Burgdorf,  in  order  to  consult  him  about  the  best  method  of 
educating  bis  Infant  son. 

If  bis  teacbing  and  example  gained  bim  sucb  confidence  from  per- 
sons  Hving  at  a  distance,  bow  mucb  greater  must  bave  been  tbe  mag- 
ical  cbarm  of  bis  personal  influence.  Von  Türk  states  tbat  "be  never 
saw  a  face  expressive  of  more  entbusiasm,  goodness,  and  love  for  all 
men  tban  tbat  of  Pestalozzi."  It  was  by  no  means  an  attractive  face, 
judged  by  tbe  usual  Standard  of  beauty;  neitber  were  bis  words  and 
sentences  very  intelligible,  partly  because  tbey  were  uttered  in  tbe 
Swiss  dialect,  and  partly  because  tbey  were  tbe  tbougbts  and  feelings 
of  a  man  wbo,  as  Biber  says,  "carried  an  unborn  universe  in  bis 
bosom." 

As  a  teacber,  especially  in  regard  to  order  and  System,  many  faults 
could  be  found  witb  Pestalozzi's  work;  but  bis  entbusiasm  usually  tri- 
umpbed  over  all  obstacles,  and  be  gained  in  interest  wbat  be  lost  from 
want  of  metbod.  Tbis  entbusiasm  was  sufficient  even  to  counteract 
tbe  effects  of  pbysical  prostration.  An  incident,  in  point,  is  related 
by  Krüsi:  "  A  foreign  embassador  announced  bis  Intention  to  visit  tbe 
scbool  on  a  certain  day.  Pestalozzi,  unfortunately,  was  confined  to  bis 
bed  by  a  violent  illness.  He,  nevertbeless,  insisted  on  being  present 
on  tbis  important  occasion,  and,  supported  by  Krüsi,  be  entered  tbe 
scbool-room  witb  many  a  groan.  He  questioned  bis  pupils;  bis  eyes 
began  to  glisten,  and  receiving  tbeir  quick  answers,  be  became  ani- 
mated,  and  bis  restless  mind  did  not  sufier  tbe  body  to  remain  quiet. 
He  left  tbe  supporting  arm,  dropped  tbe  cane,  moved  about  witb  a 
Step  tbat  grew  steadier  and  quicker,  tili  be  actually  forgot  —  nay,  lost 
all  bis  pain.  Tbe  mind  bad  triumpbed  over  tbe  body  and  performed 
a  eure  wbicb  no  pbysical  agency  could  bave  effected  in  tbe  same 
time." 

Wbile  at  Burgdorf,  be  became  so  well  known  tbrougbout  Switzer- 
land  tbat  be  was  cbosen  one  of  tbe  deputies  sent  to  Paris  in  1802,  in 
Order  to  frame  a  new  Constitution,  wbicb  sbould  unite  tbe  conflicting 
interests  of  Switzerland  and  put  an  end  to  its  internal  dissensions.  A 
letter,  written  by  Krüsi  during  bis  absence,  sbows  tbat  in  bis  new  ca- 
pacity  Pestalozzi  met  witb  little  success:  *'We  believe  tbat  Pestalozzi 
is  returning  from  Paris,  and  will  be  bere  in  a  few  days.  How  we  all 
long  for  bim,  you  can  imagine.  Alas!  bis  noble  beart  made  bim  bope 
tbat  be  could  do  sometbing  for  bis  fatber-land.  He  found  tbe  fate  of 
our  country  and  of  all  Europe  in  tbe.  bands  of  men  wbo  care  only  for 
tbemselves,  and  subordinate  every  tbing  to  tbeir  own  ends.  Tbis  very 
experience  will  be  of  importance  to  bim,  as  it  will  bind  bim  more 
iirmly  to  bis  work,  tbrougb  wbicb  alone  it  is  possible  to  gain  a  lasting 


LIFE   AT    BURGDORF.  43 

influence  on  the  miiids  and  convictioiis  of  the  people,  and  free  them 
from  the  chains  which  bind  them. 

'' Pestalozzi's   method  will  work   immeasurable   results:    the   nobler, 
part  of  humanity  will  foster  it ;    the  simplest  intellect  will  seize  it. 
The  interest  in  it  increases  from  day  to  day,  and  nien  who  but  a  short 
time  ago  were  heart  and   soul  opposed  to  it   have  become  its  stanch- 
est  supporters." 

At  this  time  the  government  of  Switzerland  was  merely  temporary. 
Every  thing  that  depended  on  political  action  was  unstable  and  preca- 
rious.  The  chief  political  parties  —  the  Federalists  and  Centralists  — 
were  bitterly  hostile  to  each  other,  and  each  was  struggling  for  suprem- 
acy.  In  this  extremity,  an  appeal  was  made  to  Napoleon  to  act  as 
mediator  between  the  warring  factions;  and  in  bis  decision  he  com- 
promised  between  the  two  parties.  In  deference  to  the  historic  ante- 
cedents  of  Switzerland,  he  restored  to  the  cantons  much  of  their 
former  power;  but  at  the  same  time  he  made  liberal  modifications  in 
favor  of  more  modern  ideas. 

Up  to  1802,  Pestalozzi  had  received  from  the  Helvetic  Government 
a^jcaiit^^^suj)port ;  and  had  even  obtained  grants  for  the  establishment  of 
a  Normal  School  and  an  Orphan  Asylum  in  addition  to  the  Institution 
which  he  already  conducted.  By  the  political  change,  however,  the 
funds  at  the  disposal  of  the  central  government  for  the  support  of 
schools,  were  taken  out  of  its  hands,  thus  clgpiixiiig  Pestalozzi,  not 
only  of  prospective  benefit,  biitof  j)i£gent  ^uppWt.  Besides  this,  the 
Castle  which  he  had  gratuitously  occupied  was  again  to  be  surrendered 
to  \the  governor  of  the  district.  This  literally  tumed__the^chool_^u^^ 
OgilßQXS;  for  the  claims  of  the  poor  school-master  were  of  little  conse- 
quence  when  compared  with  those  of  the  magnate  of  the  district,  before 
whom  all  must  deferentially  bow. 

Pestalozzi  was  now  obliged  to  look  out  for  another  place  to  which  to 
transfer  his  Institution.  At  this  juncture,  Emanuel  von  Fellenberg, 
founder  of  the  Agricultural  School  at  Hofvvyl,  invited  him  to  estab- 
lish  a  school  contiguous  to  his  own  at  Münchenbuchsee.  At  the  same 
tinie  the  authorities  of  the  canton  of  Vaud,  just  emancipated  from  the 
thralldom  of  the  Bernese  Government,  ofTered  him  the  choice..ofJhi:ee 
Castles  in ^3diich-J:o,^ontinue  his  Operations.  At  first  undecided,  he 
sent  the  greater  number  of  his  pupils,  under  the  supervision  of  a  part 
of  his  teachers,  to  Münchenbuchsee,  while  his  other  assistants  opened 
a  school  in  the  Castle  of  Yverdon,  situated  at  the  southern  extremity 
of  Lake  Neufchätel.  In  the  meantime,  in  connection  with  Krüsi,  he 
devoted  himself  toHteraryjjui^^  But  the  separated  members  of 
his  Institution  ardently  desiring  to  be  reunited  under  his  fatherly  cäre, 


44 


PESTALOZZI. 


he  yielded  to  their  wishes,  and  joined^_tli^nj.J^-4be-*cae4la-M^ 
This  old  fortress,  with  its  thick  walls  and  four  round  towers,  whicli 
had  stood  many  a  siege  of  invading  armies,  was  noAV  captured  by  a 
school-master ;  and  it  was  henceforth  to  become  more  formidable  in 

jts__attä£tjiPQiLl^3i2£3^'^^»  *^^^  ^*  ^^^  before  been  in  its  defense  of 
liberty. 


CHAPTEK    V. 

LIFE  AT  YVERDOX. 

WE  have  now  arrived  at  the  most  momentous  period  of  Pesta- 
lozzi's  life.  His  Institution  had  obtained  such  celebrity  that 
the  attention  of  all  the  prominent  friends  of  education  in  civilized 
Europe  was  centered  upon  its  work.  A  great  many  facts  of  that 
era  must  necessarily  be  omitted,  as  partaking  too  much  of  a  local 
character  to  be  of  general  interest  to  the  public.  There  are,  however, 
features  of  it  which  belong  to  the  whole  world,  and  which  may  be 
studied  and  iraitated  by  coniing  generations.  As  the  contemplation  of 
the  Christian  Church  in  its  original  purity  and  simplicity  will  ever  pre- 
serve  religion  from  degenerating  into  mere  formal  rites  and  dogmas, 
so  the  contemplation  of  this  period  of  educational  enthusiasra  w411  have 
a  powerful  influence  in  arresting  Instruction  from  degenerating  into 
routine. 

An  eye-witness  speaks  of  the  spirit  prevailing  in  the  Institution 
during  its  best  period,  in  the  following  words :  "  The  pupils  and  teacli- 
ers  were  united  by  that  unaffected  love  which  Pestalozzi,  who,  in  years, 
was  a  man  verging  to  the  grave,  but  in  heart  and  mind  a  genuine 
child,  seemed  to  breathe  out  continually  and  impart  to  all  who  came 
within  his  influence.  The  children  forgot  that  they  had  another  home, 
and  the  teachers  that  there  was  any  other  world  than  the  Institution. 
Not  a  man  claimed  a  privilege  for  himself,  not  one  wished  to  be  con- 
sidered  above  the  others.  Teachers  and  pupils  were  entirely  united. 
They  not  only  slept  in  the  same  rooms,  and  shared  the  labors  and  en- 
joyments  of  the  day,  but  they  were  on  a  footing  of  perfect  equality. 
The  same  mai)  who  read  a  lecture  on  History  one  hour,  would,  per- 
haps,  during  the  next,  sit  on  the  same  form  with  the  pupils  for  a  lesson 
in  Arithmetic  or  Geometry,  and,  without  compromising  his  dignity, 
would  even  request  their  assistance  and  receive  their  hints." 

The  influence  of  Pestalozzi  over  his  teachers  was  very  great.  On 
two  evenings  of  each  week,  he  met  with  them  to  discuss  their  work. 
At  these  meetings,  each  one  was  called  upon  to  give  an  account  of  the 
(45) 


46 


PESTALOZZI. 


plan  of  bis  lessons,  and  of  the  character  and  behavior  of  the  children 
under  his  special  care.  The  remarks  of  eacli,  and  the  conclusions  to 
which  they  led,  were  noted  in  a  book,  which  was  always  open  for  ex- 
amination.  These  consultations  tended  to  produce  unity  of  feeling, 
thought,  and  action  among  the  teachers.  Mistakes  which  may  have 
been  committed  were  criticised  and  corrected ;  and  excellences  became 
a  common  heritage.  The  character  and  habits  of  the  pupils  became 
known  to  all,  and  the  ability  shown  in  one  direction  was  made  to  bal- 
ance  the  deficiency  in  another  —  a  result  which  often  relieved  them 
from  an  unjust  charge  of  stupidity  or  idleness. 

In  many  schools  the  teachers  stand  isolated.     They  are  neither  in 
communication  with  the  parents  nor  thö   principal,  nor  do  they  have 


ViFW  OF  Y\  FRDON. 

any  action  in  unison,  except  in  the  all-absorbing  task  of  making  a  Pro- 
gramme of  the  daily  recitations.  If  there  w^ere  more  frequent  consul- 
tations and  greater  concert  of  action  among  teachers,  the  moral  and 
intellectual  condition  of  schools  would  be  improved. 

A  healthful  mind  requires  a  healthful  body;  therefore,  physical  edu- 
eation,  in  the  Institution,  received  due  attention.  The  pupils  were 
made  to  rise  early,  their  food  was  good  and  simple,  and  gymnastic 
exercises  were  systematically  practiced  throughout  the  year.  Frequent 
bathing  in  the  neighboring  lake,  and  walks  upon  the  sunny  hills,  were 
favorite  amusements  in  summer.     !N"o  eifeminacy  was  suffered  to  pre- 


LIFE    AT    YVERDON.  47 

vail.     If  a  spoiled  boy,  who  was  afraid  of  the  air  or  the  touch  of  the 
snow,  entered  the  school,  he  was  sure  to  be  cured  of  his   weakness  by       ] 
the  example  of  his  companions,  which,   in   such    cases,   is    the   best  .     ] 
instructor.  ; 

Füll  exercise  to  every  faculty  of  the  mind  was  also  given,  and  thus  ; 
a  healthfiil  reciprocity  was  established  between  mind  and  body.  The  j 
Situation  of  the  school,  amidst  some  of  the  most  beautiful  scenery  of  \ 
Europe,  proved  a  powerful  auxiliary  in  the  accomplishment  of  this  i 
end.  I 

The  town  of  Yverdon  is  situated  at  the  extremity  of  Lake  Neufchä- 
tel,  and  commands  an  extensive  view  of  this  lake  and  its  vine-clad       \ 
shores,  dotted  with  towns  and  villages.     To  the  west,  the  Jura  mount- 
ains  extend  in  an  unbroken  chain,  delightfully  varied  by  pastures,       \ 
forests,  deep  ravines,  and  miisses  of  bare  rock.     From  the  summits  of       ] 
these  mountains  the  traveler  looks  down  upon  the  tranquil  lake  be-       ] 
neath ;  while  to  the  south  lies  the  wide  valley,  with  all  its  variegated       1 
richness,  bounded  by  the  snow-draped  Alps,  from  the  centerof  which — i 
towers  the  majestic  summit  of  Mont  Blanc.     This  valley  is  traversed 
by  the  river  Orbe,  which,  fed  from  an  invisible  lake  above,  rises  sud- 
denly  from  beneath  a  high  rock,  and  lower  down  falls  over  a  precipice. 
These  infinitely  varied  beauties  of  nature  could  not  fail  to  inspire  both       \ 
teachers  and  pupils.  \ 

It  must  not  be  understood,  however,  that  the  attention  given  to 
physical  exercise  and  to  the  contemplation  of  nature  and  her  laws,  j 
occasioned  any  neglect  in  other  studies.  On  the  contrary,  the  pupils  j 
received  an  additional  Stimulus  from  the  strength  gained,  and  from  the  ■ 
spirit  of  Observation  aroused.  The  impressions,  which  flowed  into  the  ^ 
awakened  senses  from  the  magnificent  scenery,  provided  materials  fbr  j 
both  thought  and  expression,  and  served  especially  as  a  basis  for  \ 
formal  exercises  in  language  and  composition.  According  to  this  plan,\  '  ^ 
composition  comes  before  analysis,  and  the  use  of  language  before  rules.  »  ^ 
In  the  old  System,  definitions  and  rules  were  given  first,  and  the  latter  ^ 
were  thus  often  doomed  to  be  rulers  without  dominion.  1 

Mathematics,  however,  Avas  the  brauch  in  which  the  pupils  made  the  j 
greatest  progress;  and  the  recitations  in  this  subject,  caused  much 
admiration  on  the  part  of  visitors.  The  reason  for  this  was,  that  the 
science  of  numbers  could  be  most  easily  brought  within  the  laws  of  pro- 
gressive development,  which  form  the  basis  of  the  Pestalozzian  philos- 
ophy.  In  the  experimental  stage  of  the  great  reform,  it  was  but 
natural  that  prominence  should  be  given  to  that  study  which  most 
readily  conformed  to  its  spirit,  and,  at  the  same  time,  best  illustrated 
its  laws.     Other  branches,  such  as  the  various  departments  of  Natural 


48  PESTALOZZI. 

History,  were  much  more  complicated  in  their  relations;  and  hence 
required  a  deeper  investigation  and  a  wider  exj)erience  for  their  füll 
elucidation. 

Singing  formed  a  pleasing  aecompaniment  to  all  the  devotional  exer- 
cises  and  festal  gatherings  of  the  Institution,  and  proved  a  strong  de- 
ment in  promoting  the  harraony  of  its  merabers.  This  subject  was 
ably  taught  by  Dreist,  a  man  of  high  moral  and  religious  principle. 
In  this  work  he  followed  the  plan  of  Nägeli  and  Pfeiffer,  composers 
of  high  Order,  and  friends  of  Pestalozzi. 

Religious  Instruction,  calculated  to  lead  the  pupil  to  the  living 
source  from  which  spring  humility,  self-devotion,  and  an  active  striv- 
ing  for  perfection  of  character,  received  constant  and  special  atten- 
tion. The  morning  and  evening  devotions,  in  which  all  joined ;  the 
truly  elevating  manner  in  which  some  festival  days,  especially  Christ- 
mas and  New-year's,  were  celebrated;  and,  above  all,  the  spirit  of 
brotherly  love  which  seemed  to  pervade  the  members  of  the  school, 
gave  evidence  that  the  loving  precepts  of  Christ  were  received  by 
willing  ears  and  intelligent  minds.  This  was  the  crowning  glory  of 
the  w^hole  System. 

It  Avas  with  reverence  and  love  that  the  members  of  the  household 
listeixed  to  the  impassioned  appeals  of  one  who'  had  ^  borne  the  cross 
for  his  principles ;  had  devoted  his  life  to  the  welfare  of  the  poor 
and  unfortunate,  and  upon  whom,  with  unanimous  consent,  they  be- 
stowed  the  affectionate  title,  "  Father  Pestalozzi."  But  his  reputation 
was  not  confined  to  his  school,  nor  even  to  Yverdon  and  its  vicinity. 
His  fame  penetrated  to  distant  countries,  and  his  fervent  appeals  in 
behalf  of  a  better  System  of  education  reached  the  ears  of  enlight- 
ened  men  every-Avhere. 

The  time  was  no  doubt  favorable  for  the  cause  of  universal  educa- 
tion. The  horrors  perpetrated  during  the  French  Revolution,  and  the 
deep  womids  inflicted  by  internal  dissensions  and  cruel  wars,  could  not 
fall  to  direct  the  attention  of  thinking  men  to  the  cause  of  the  evil,  as 
well  as  to  the  remedy  by  which  alone  it  could  be  radically  cured.  ! 
Clear-minded  men  advocated  an  education  which  should  be  universal,  ' 
not  only  in  its  freedom  to  all,  but  in  its  development  of  every  faculty 
of  the  human  mind. 

Fichte,  the  great  philosopher,  in  his  addresses  to  the  German  nä- 
tion,  spoke  of  the  principles  of  Pestalozzi  as  the  best  means  for  national 
regeneration.  William,  King  of  Prussia,  through  his  Minister  of  Edu- 
cation, sent  a  number  of  young  men  of  talent  and  culture  to  Yverdon  to 
study  the  new  methods.  The  king  of  Holland,  the  "Prince  of  Peace," 
then  all-poAverful  in  Spain,  and  even  Alexander,  the  mighty  Czar  of 


LIFE    AT    YVERDON.  49 

Russia,  took  a  similar  interest  in  the  cause.  Pupils  came,  not  only 
from  the  various  states  of  Germany,  but  from  England,  France,  and 
Sweden.  Thus  the  Institution  at  Yverdon  contained  pupils  from 
nearly  every  nation  of  Europe,  although  the  greater  number  were  of 
German  and  French  origin.  This  fact  often  obliged  the  teachers,  in 
Order  to  be  understood  by  all,  to  give  their  instruction  in  two  lan- 
guages  —  a  feature  not  favorable  to  rapid  progress. 

Pestalozzi's  time  was  fuUy  occupied  in  the  superintendence  of  this 
large  and  heterogeneous  assembly,  in  an  extensive  and  varied  corre- 
spondence,  in  his  literary  labors,  and  in  attending  to  the  financial  man- 
agement  of  the  Institution.  For  this  last  labor  he,  unfortunately,  had 
httle  taste  or  ability,  and  the  balances  were  usually  against  him.  The 
reasons  for  these  deficits  are  obvious.  Of  the  great  number  of  pupils 
which  belonged  to  the  Institution,  scarcely  two-thirds  paid  their  füll 
board  and  tuition.  Of  the  remainder,  some  paid  a  part,  and  many 
nothing  at  all.  No  pupil  was  rejected  on  account  of  his  poverty,  but 
every  one  who  manifested  a  desire  to  improve  was  admitted.  Although 
urged  to  caution  by  the  sad  experiences  of  his  early  life,  Pestalozzi  ever 
forgot  his  worldly  interests  when  the  welfare  of  humanity  appealed  to 
his  susceptible  heart.  A  touching  incident,  illustrative  of  this  self-for- 
getfulness,  was  related  to  the  author  by  an  eye-witness: 

"  A  poor  young  man,  having  traveled  on  foot  from  a  distance  to  pay 
his  tribute  of  respect  and  admiration  to  Pestalozzi  and  his  work,  found 
himself  so  reduced  that  he  could  not  pay  for  a  night's  lodging  at  the 
hotel.  Pestalozzi,  not  wishing  to  disturb  his  household,  offered  his 
own  bed  to  the  wearied  guest.  Some  friends  calling  at  his  room 
soon  after,  were  astonished  to  see  his  bed  occupied  by  a  stranger. 
Alarmed  at  his  absence,  they  went  in  search  of  him,  and  found  him 
at  last,  stretched  on  one  of  the  hard  benches  of  the  school-room  in 
sound  sleep,  and  totally  unconscious  that  he  had  done  any  thing  but 
his  duty." 

He  found  the  fittest  Instruments  for  his  work  among  the  humble  and 
lowly,  and  his  joy  must  have  been  pure  and  unalloyed  when  after- 
ward he  saw  them  filling  positions  of  trust  and  responsibility,  an  honor 
to  science  and  a  blessing  to  their  fellow-men. 

There  is,  apparently,  another  phase  to  his  character.  Instead  of  a 
poor  Wanderer,  the  arrival  of  an  influential  statesman,  or  perhaps  a 
prince,  is  announced.  What  causes  him  to  rush  impetuously  into  the 
presence  of  the  august  visitor  and  lead  him  to  the  recitations  of  his 
best  classes?  Is  it  subserviency  to  the  powerful  and  the  rieh,  and  a 
selfish  desire  to  obtain  their  approval  and  applause  ?  Or  is  it  because 
he  sees  behind  the  prince  or  statesman  a  whole  nation  which  would  be 
P.  4. 


50  PESTALOZZI. 

blessed  by  receiving  a  better  Instruction?  The  following  incident  will 
best  answer  these  questions: 

The  king  of  Prussia,  on  his  visit  to  Neufchätel,  then  a  Prussian 
principality,  expressed  a  desire  to  see  Pestalozzi.  It  happened, 
however,  that  the  latter  was  very  ill  at  that  time,  biit  his  in- 
terest  in  the  cause  to  which  he  had  devoted  his  life  impelled  him  to 
attend  to  the  call.  On  being  lifted  into  the  coach,  he  fainted  several 
times,  and  his  friends  strongly  urged  him  to  give  up  his  intended 
Visit.  "No,"  Said  he;  **let  me  go;  for,  if  by  my  humble  intercession, 
I  shall  only  cause  a  single  Prussian  child  to  receive  better  Instruction, 
I  shall  be  satisfied." 

The  bearing  of  Pestalozzi  during  the  visit  of  the  great  Hungarian, 
Prince  Esterhazy,  is  so  characteristic  of  the  man,  that  we  can  not 
forbear  giving  it  in  the  words  of  Ramsauer,  who  had  a  part  in  the 
transaction:  ''In  1814,  the  aged  Prince  Esterhazy  paid  us  a  visit. 
Pestalozzi  ran  all  over  the  house  calling  out,  '  Ramsauer !  Ramsauer ! 
where  are  you  ?  Go  directly  with  your  best  pupils  to  the  Red  House,' 
(the  hotel  at  which  the  prince  had  alighted).  '  The  prince  is  a  person 
of  the  highest  importance  and  of  infinite  wealth,  and  has  thousands  of 
serfs  in  Hungary.  He  is  certain  to  build  schools  and  set  free  his  slaves, 
if  he  can  only  be  made  to  take  an  interest  in  the  matter.'  I  took  about 
fifteen  pupils  to  the  hotel,  and  Pestalozzi  presented  me  to  the  prince 
with  these  words :  '  This  is  the  teacher  of  these  pupils,  a  young  man 
who  fifteen  years  ago  emigrated  with  other  poor  children  from  the 
canton  of  Appenzell,  and  came  to  me.  He  received  an  elementary 
education,  according  to  his  capacity,  without  let  or  hinderance.  Now, 
he  is  a  teacher  himself.  You  thus  see  that  there  is  as  much  ability 
in  the  poor  as  in  the  riebest  —  frequently  more '  (candid  Pestalozzi) ; 
'  but  in  vthe  poor  it  is  seldom  developed,  and  even  then  not  systemat- 
ically.  He  will  show  you  every  thing  that  we  do  better  than  I  could. 
I  will,  therefore,  leave  him  with  you  for  the  present.' 

"I  now  examined,  taught,  explained,  and  bawled,  in  my  zeal,  tili 
I  was  quite  hoarse,  believing  that  the  prince  was  quite  convinced  of 
every  thing.  At  the  end  of  an  hour  Pestalozzi  returned.  The  prince 
expressed  his  pleasure  at  what  he  had  seen.  He  then  took  leave,  and 
Pestalozzi,  standing  on  the  steps  of  the  hotel,  said :  '  He  is  quite  con- 
vinced, quite  convinced,  and  will  certainly  establish  schools  on  his 
Hungarian  estates.'  After  we  had  descended  the  stairs,  he  said: 
'What  ails  my  arm?  It  is  very  painful;  see,  it  is  quite  swollen.  I 
can  not  bend  it.'  In  truth,  his  wide  sleeve  was  too  small  for  his 
arm.  I  looked  at  the  key  of  the  house  door,  and  said  to  him :  '  Look 
here!   you  Struck  yourself  against  this  key  when  we  were  going  to 


;  LIFE    AT    YVERDOX.  51 

the  prince  an  hour  ago.'  Oii  looking,  it  appeared  that  Pestalozzi 
had  actually  bent  the  key  by  hitting  his  elbow  against  it,  and  for  an 
hour,  in  his  excess  of  zeal  and  joy,  had  not  noticed  the  pain."  This 
shows  how  ardent  and  zealous  was  the  good  old  man  when  he  thought 
he  had  an  opportunity  of  benefitting  his  fellow-men. 

During  the  war  of  1814,  a  requisition  was  made  by  the  Austrian 
commandant  that  the  building  should  be  given  up  as  a  hospital  for 
his  army.  Fortunately,  the  Emperor  Alexander  was  at  Basel,  and 
to  him  Pestalozzi  immediately  went  to  see  if  any  thing  could  be  done 
to  save  his  school.  He  was  received  in  the  most  friendly  manner, 
and  the  emperor  promised  to  interpose  in  his  behalf.  This  he  did, 
and  the  hospital  was  not  established  at  Yverdon  at  all. 

In  November  of  the  same  year,  the  emperor  beste  wed  upon  him 
the  Order  of  St.  Vladimir,  fourth  class,  ''  with  which,"  says  Krüsi, 
"  he  w^as  so  delighted,  that  he  showed  it  to  every  one  about  him." 
His  friends,  who  knew  well  that  the  real  reason  of  his  joy  was  the 
fact  of  seeing  the  mighty  Czar  j^leased  with  his  work,  and  interested 
in  the  cause  of  education,  could,  nevertheless,  not  conceal  a  smile  at 
the  thought,  that  a  man  who  had  tried  to  save  humanity  from  its 
mental  sloth,  should  be  rewarded  with  the  fourth  class  order,  while 
the  inventor  of  a  w^holesale  killing  machine  had  been  found  worthy 
of  one  of  the  second  class. 

These  apparent  fits  of  vanity  are  in  such  streng  contrast  to  his 
usual  simplicity  and  modesty  of  manner,  that  they  must  be  attributed 
to  the  temporary  Impulses  by  which  he  was  moved  w^hen  he  received 
an  unusual  and  unexpected  recognition  of  the  value  of  his  work  from 
those  who  had  power  to  carry  it  more  fuUy  into  execution. 

The  following  incident  further  illustrates  the  impulsive  nature  of 
Pestalozzi  and  the  genuine  goodness  of  his  heart:  "The  oldest  teach- 
ers,"  says  Krüsi,  "  myself  included,  were  always  accustomed  to  use 
the  familiär  '  thou '  in  addressing  our  friend  and  father.  It  hap- 
pened,  one  day,  that  I  accompanied  Pestalozzi  to  Berne,  where  he  was 
to  visit  some  members  of  the  Government.  On  our  journey,  which 
was  accomplished  on  foot,  Pestalozzi  suggested  to  me  that  it  might 
be  desirable  to  drop  the  familiär  pronoun,  and  to  prefix  Master  to  his 
name  in  the  presence  of  the  distinguished  men  whom  we  would  soon 
meet.  Although  inwardly  vexed,  I  said  nothing.  When  half-way 
there  Pestalozzi  expressed  a  desire  for  cherries,  which  I  accordingly 
bought,  and,  taking  off  my  three-cornered  hat  and  making  a  profound 
bow,  I  gaid :  '  Will  Master  Pestalozzi  condescend  to  take  some  cher- 
ries?' This  was  too  much  for  the  assumed  dignity  of  my  simple-hearted 
companion,  and,  forgetting  his  own  injunctions,  he  said,  with  a  half- 


52  PESTALOZZI. 

laughing,  half-angry  expression,   '  Thou  wicked  man ;  never  do  this 
again  in  all  thy  life!'     Thus  the  matter  ended." 

It  miglit  have  been  well  had  Pestalozzi  possessed  sufficient  vanity 
or  pride  to  have  made  him  more  careful  of  external  appearances, 
especially  in  regard  to  person  and  dress.     It  may  be  said,  that  an 
extraordinary  person  should  not  be  judged  by  the  ordinary  Standard ;  . 
and,  that  it  is  better  to  neglect  the  conventionalities  of  life  in  the  , 
furtherance  of  a  great  cause,  than  to  give  such  exclusive  attention  to  I 
personal  appearance  as  to  forget  the  nobler  interests  of  humanity.  y^ 
But  in  this,  as  in  most  of  the  practical  concerns  of  life,  there  is  a 
medium  course,  which  will  allow  of  a  devotion  to  a  great  cause,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  will  bestow  sufficient  thought  upon  manners  and 
dress  as  not  to  excite  special  attention. 

It  is  also  true,  that  a  man  who  Stands  above  the  multitude,  either 
in  character  or  position,  should  be  an  example  in  small  as  well  as 
in  great  things;  and  an  educator,  especially,  is  expected  to  practice 
the  precepts  which  he  inculcates.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the 
hieroglyphical  character  of  his  handwriting,  which  only  his  intimate 
friends  were  able  to  decipher,  and  of  his  carelessness  in  arithmetical 
Operations,  which  he  performed  by  his  heart  rather  than  by  his  head ; 
but  we  have  yet  to  mention  how  people  who  judge  only  by  the  out- 
side  were  often  sadly  mistaken  in  the  ideal  picture  they  had  formed 
of  him. 

f  It  happened  once  that  his  wife  sat,  in  Company  with  other  ladies, 
i    Jon  a  balcony  overlooking  the  road  at  a  watering-place.     They  saw  a 

/Jtraveler  approaching  on  foot,   with  clothes  covered  with  dust,  and 
"I^YI  jotherwise  presenting  such  a  singular  appearance,   that  one  of  the 
^Jy.    Ij  ladies,  turning  to  Madame  Pestalozzi,  called  her  attention  to  him  by 
^^  ^    'saying,  "Look  there!  who   may  this  monster  be  who  is  approach- 
ing?"    "Madame,"  replied  the  lady,  her  eyes  glistening  with  pride 

^aa4  pleasure,  "that  is  my  husband," 

■r~^  On  another  occasion  he  got  into  trouble  from  a  similar  mistake. 

1  Having  undertaken  a  journey  on  foot  to  the  town  of  Solothurn,  he 
met  a  beggar,  who  asked  for  alms.  Pestalozzi,  who  could  never 
refuse  any  appeal  of  that  kind,  searched  his  pockets  for  money,  but 
i  j  found  that  it  had  already  taken  to  itself  wings.  In  order  not  to  dis- 
appoint  the  man,  whom  he  saw  anxiously  watching  him,  he  looked 
about  his  person  and  found  that  he  could  easily  spare  his  silver  shoe- 
buckles.  These  he  accordingly  gave  to  the  beggar.  Finding,  how- 
ever,  that  the  shoes  had  a  tendency  to  slip  from  his  feet,  he  fastened 
them  with  bits  of  straw,  and,  absorbed  in  thought,  with  occasional 
exclamations  and  gesticulations,  he  tramped  along  the  dusty  road. 


LIFE    AT   YVERDON.  53 

On  entering  the  gates  of  the  city  he  was  arrested  by  a  policeman  as 
a  vagabond,  or,  at  least,  as  a  suspicious  character.  Pestalozzi  expos- 
tulated  in  vain.  He  could  not  convince  bis  uninvited  companion  of 
bis  respectabiHty.  As  a  last  resort,  be  asked  to  be  taken  before 
Lutbi,  tbe  mayor.  Tbis  request  was  granted.  Upon  arriving  tbere, 
tbe  mayor  at  once  recognized  bis  esteemed  friend,  and  embraced  bim 
witb  many  a  word  of  affection  and  welcome.  Tbe  policeman  stood 
by  witb  eyes  and  moutb  open,  and  at  last  slipped  away,  conscious  of 
baving  committed  a  blunder  in  bis  zeal  for  tbe  interests  of  tbe  city, 
and  witb  grave  doubts  in  regard  to  bis  own  powers  as  a  pbysiogno- 
mist. 

ike  otbers  wbo  bave  been  possessed  witb  a  single  absorbing  idea, 
be  was  frequently  so  absent-minded  as  to  be  utterly  unconscious  of 
surrounding  circumstances.  It  is  related,  tbat  once,  during  a  pelting 
rain,  be  went  to  see  a  friend  wbo  lived  at  a  considerable  distance. 
Altbougb  be  had  an  umbrella,  he  was  so  absorbed  in  thought  tbat  be 
forgot  to  open  it.  When  bis  friend  saw  bim  approacbing,  dripping 
wet,  witb  bis  umbrella  under  bis  arm,  be  exclaimed:  "Wby  did 
you  not  open  your  umbrella?  Do  you  not  see  it  rain?"  '*  You  are 
rigbt,"  Said  Pestalozzi,  spreading  bis  umbrella.  "Ob,"  said  bis 
amused  friend,  "tbis  will  be  of  little  use,  now  tbat  you  are  under 
sbelter."  "You  are  rigbt,"  said  tbe  pbilosopber,  as  be  again  sbut 
tbe  umbrella  and  entered  tbe  bouse. 

Wbile  tbese  incidents  are  ludicrous,  tbey  reveal  a  certain  belpless- 
ness  and  unfitness  for  tbe  practical  requirements  of  life,  and  explain, 
to  a  large  extent,  tbe  dissensions  and  sufFerings  to  wbicb  be  was  ex- 
posed  toward  tbe  evening  of  bis  eventful  life.  Tbese  infirraities  also 
account  for  tbe  want  of  order  wbicb  some  sbarp  critics,  especially 
Raumer,  seem  to  bave  discovered  in  bis  scbool. 

In  regard  to  tbis  last  point,  tbere  were  circumstances  wbicb  would 
bave  acted  unfavorably  in  any  scbool,  even  if  conducted  by  a  mucb 
bigber  administrative  talent  tban  was  possessed  by  Pestalozzi. 

First :  It  was  not  establisbed  by  government,  nor  by  any  associa- 
tion  wbicb  could  command  money  and  influence;  but  it  was  called 
into  life  by  tbe  entbusiasm  and  persistence  of  a  single  man  wbo  bad 
neitber  wealtb  nor  position.  He  was  aided,  it  is  true,  by  trustwortby 
friends;  but  tbey  all  relied  for  success  upon  tbe  principles  on  wbicb 
tbeir  work  was  founded,  and  gave  little  beed  to  tbe  pecuniary  bene- 
fits  wbicb  migbt  bave  been  derived  from  Cooperation. 

Second  :  It  contained  pupils  from  almost  every  country  of  Europe, 
professing  different  religions  and  speaking  different  languages. 

Tbird :    Tbe  pupils  consisted,  not  merely  of  boys,  sent  tbitber  by 


54  PESTALOZZI. 

tlieir  jDarents  and  giiardiaiis,  but,  in  many  instances,  of  men  who  had 
left  their  vocations  in  order  to  study  the  method  Avith  its  originator. 
It  thus  often  haj^pened,  that  the  unsophisticated  boy  and  the  mature 
thinker  were  in  the  same  room,  engaged  in  the  same  work. 

Fourth :  It  was  visited  at  all  seasons  and  at  all  times  of  the  day 
by  students  and  foreign  travelers,  who  wished  to  observe  the  work- 
ings  of  the  System,  and  whose  wishes  were  generally  gratified  at  the 
expense  of  regularity  and  order. 

It  was  not  in  the  power  of  Pestalozzi  to  change  the  circumstances 
which  were  the  direct  results  of  his  great  reputation ;  and  it  is  obvi- 
ous  that  they  were  not  favorable  to  the  healthful  progress  of  the 
school.  The  peculiar  and  anomalous  condition  of  affairs  often  neces- 
sitated  a  course  of  action  in  which  the  principles  of  the  System  were 
openly  violated  to  meet  certain  pressing  and  unexpected  emergencies. 

At  Burgdorf,  where  the  teachers  were  linked  to  Pestalozzi  by 
bonds  of  reverence  and  love,  and  where  the  number  of  pupils  was 
small,  the  governraent  of  the  school  was  of  a  patriarchal  character. 
The  ad  vice  or  wish  of  the  venerable  father  acted  as  a  command,  and 
his  approbation  like  a  blessing.  At  Yverdon,  this  touching  faith  and 
child-like  simplicity  gradually  changed,  to  conform  to  ihe  new  condi- 
tions  and  circumstances.  Some  of  the  teachers  who  excelled  in  prac- 
tical  efficiency  or  learning,  had,  in  spite  of  their  self-negation,  estab- 
lished  a  reputation  which,  in  many  respects,  was  equal  to  that  of 
their  master.  They  were  often  thought  able  to  express  his  views 
better  than  himself,  and  hence  they  were  frequently  consulted  by 
the  students  of  the  System.  In  spite  of  this  voluntary  tribute  to 
their  knowledge  and  ability,  they  always  respected  the  wishes  and 
authority  of  their  old  friend,  and  upon  all  important  occasions  con- 
sulted him. 

l!)uring  the  period  when  the  reputation  of  the  Institution  was  at 
ihQ^  highest,  the  government  w^as  of  a  decidedly  republican  character. 
This"  spirit  of  equality  pervaded  all  thoughts  and  sentiments,  and 
was  shared  by  pupils  and  teachers  alike.  The  truth  which  a  pupil 
established  by  investigation,  was  as  much  respected  as  though  found 
in  a  book  or  uttered  by  a  teacher.  Freedom,  restrained  only  by  sal- 
utary  laws,  led  to  voluntary  exertions;  and,  although  these  occasion- 
ally  disturbed  the  perfect  order  of  the  school,  still  the  rieh  fruits  of 
liberty  more  than  compensated  for  the  irregularities  —  a  truth  which 
wnll  also  apply  to  all  other  human  affairs. 

In  the  complicated  relations  of  a  large  school,  two  things  are  neces- 
sary  to  its  highest  success  —  unity  of  purpose,  and  harmony  of  action. 
A  watch  must  have  a  spring  to  furnish  it  with  motive  power,  or  the 


LIFE    AT   YVERDON.  55 

wheels  can  not  work  in  unison  and  give  uniformity  to  the  motion  of 
the  hands.  The  spring  of  a  scliool  should  be  moral  power;  but, 
when  despotism  usurps  this  place  and  commands  obedience  without 
regard  to  motive,  harmony  of  action  is  lost  through  the  gradual  de- 
cay  of  the  liberty,  good-will,  and  enthusiasm,  upon  which  it  depends. 
From  the  republican  rule,  which  fostered  freedom  and  excited  in- 
dividual  action,  the  school  at  Yverdon  gradually  passed  under  a 
despotic  swäy,  which  proved  fatal  alike  to  its  success  and  to  the 
application  of  the  principles  upon  which  it  had  been  founded. 

In  the  following  passage  Pestalozzi  confesses  his  own  inability,  and 
fully  acknowledges  the  assistance  which  he  received  from  others: 
*' When  I  consider  my  work  as  it  Stands  now,  I  must  confess  that 
no  man,  by  his  own  resources,  was  less  capable  of  accomplishing  it 
than  I  was.  It  required  extraordinary  means,  and  I  had  not  even 
ordinary  ones  at  my  command.  It  required  calm,  dispassionate 
views,  and  I  am  the  most  nervous  and  impulsive  man  in  the  world. 
It  required  deep  mathematical  knowledge,  and  I  have  the  most  un- 
mathematical  mind  that  can  be  imagined.  It  required  classical  cul- 
ture  and  great  powers  of  language,  combined  with  administrative 
talent,  and  I  possess  none  of  these.  My  head  was  so  hot,  that  my 
friends  were  sometimes  afraid  it  would  crack ;  but  I  found  men  of  clear 
and- calm  minds  to  sustain  me  in  my  labors,  and  so  my  work  exists. 
All  this  was  done  by  love,  whieh  possesses  divine  power  if  we  are 
only  true  to  the  right  and  not  afraid  to  carry  the  cross." 

We  have  already  shown,  that,  from  the  peculiar  character  of  his« 
genius,  and  from  the  preponderance  of  his  feelings  over  his  reason, 
he  needed  some  one  to  render  his  ideas  and  plans  intelligible  to  the 
World,  and  to  unite  them  into  a  regulär  systematic  whole.  He  needed 
this  assistance,  in  order  to  show  the  connection  of  his  work  with  the 
progress  of  human  culture  and  civilization.  To  Niederer  we  are 
indebted  for  the  philosophical  form  in  which  the  truths  of  the  ^reat 
educational  revival  are  embodied.  Raumer  says,  that  '*only  by  the 
aid  of  such  a  man  did  Pestalozzi  hope  that  his  Swiss  idiom  could  be 
translated  into  intelligible  German.  For  some  time  he  even  thought ' 
that  Niederer  understood  him  better  than  he  did  himself." 

Many  are  the  honorable  testimonials  given  by  Pestalozzi  during 
the  period  of  their  friendship  to  the  rare  value  and  disinterestedness 
of  his  co-laborer.  And  well  might  he  be  proud  of  him;  for  the 
Services  of  Niederer  were  of  such  a  nature  that  they  won  for  Pes- 
talozzi the  admiration  and  respect  of  the  educated  public ;  and  were 
further  required  to  shield  him  from  the  enemies  who  tried  to  under- 
mine  the  very  foundations  of  his  System.     But  there  was  one  serious 


56  ,  PESTALOZZI. 

defect  in  Niederer's  work.  The  results  which  his  philosophic  mind  an- 
ticipated  would  follow  a  thorough  applicatioii  of  Pestalozzis  princi- 
ples,  he  sometimes  so  represented,  that  the  impressioii  was  conveyed 
that  they  were  actually  attained,  Avhile  yet  they  existed  merely  in 
theory. 

Moreover,  it  was  claimed,  and  not  without  foundation,  that  Niederer 
was  unable  to  give  much  aid  to  the  practical  details  of  teaching,  or  to 
contribute  materially  to  the  realization  of  his  own  philosophic  sug- 
gestions. 

It  seems  natural,  therefore,  that  Pestalozzi,  in  moments  of  de- 
spondency,  or  when  a  strong  practical  hand  was  required  for  the 
government  of  his  school,  should  have  become  somewhat  estranged 
from  his  faithful  friend;  and  the  more  so,  as  both  possessed  impul- 
sive temperaments  which  were  not  attuned  to  each  other.  It  is  cer- 
tain  that  at  one  time  the  influence  of  Niederer  over  Pestalozzi  was 
such  that  several  passages  of  his  writings,  in  style  as  well  as  thought, 
point  to  the  former  as  their  real  author.  It  is  to  these  he  undoul^t- 
edly  alludes,  when,  at  a  later  period,  by  way  of  apology  for  discrep- 
ancies  between  his  theory  and  practice,  he  says:  *'In  this  and  sev- 
eral other  passages,  I  express,  not  so  much  my  own  peculiar  views 
of  education  in  their  original  simplicity,  as  certain  immature  philo- 
sophical  notions  with  w^hich,  at  that  time,  notwithstanding  all  our 
good  intentions,  most  of  the  inmates  of  our  house,  myself  among  the 
rest,  must  needs  perplex  our  heads,  and  which  brought  me  person- 
ally  to  a  stand-still  in  my  Avork.  These  views  caused  the  Institution, 
which  seemed  to  flourish,  to  become  rotten  to  the  very  core,  and  are 
to  be  looked  upon  as  the  hidden  source  of  all  the  misfortunes  which 
have  since  come  upon  me." 

This  throwing  the  cause  of  all  his  misfortunes  upon  an  abstraction 
must  be  taken  cum  grano  salis.  It  is  often  the  case  that  an  indi- 
vidual  whose  physical  Organization  has  been  weakened  by  the  abuses 
of  a  whole  life  and  by  a  total  neglect  of  the  laws  of  health,  dis- 
covers  at  once  that  some  innocent  fruit  of  which  he  has  partaken  is 
the  cause  of  the  pain  which  he  feels.  In  the  same  manner  the 
causes  of  a  mental  or  moral  disorder  are  often  attributed  to  a 
casual  incident  in  the  great  drama  of  action. 

In  a  letter  to  Pestalozzi,  after  the  loss  of  mutual  confidence.  Nie- 
derer says:  "Ruin  entered  your  Institution  when,  dazzled  and  led 
away  by  individual  instances  of  brilliant  talents  and  results,  you 
ceased  to  bestow  any  particular  attention  upon  those  moral  qualities 
w^hich,  by  their  nature,  can  only  work  in  silence,  although  they 
stand  higher  than  talent,  and  alone  can  render  the  development  of 


LIFE    AT   YVERDOX,  '  't'.v        57 

talent  possible;  when  you  began  to  act  as  if  yoii  owea-^öVery  thing    < 
to  that  with  which  you  coiild  make  a  display,  and  nothing  m  .^\hat 
was  not  suited  to  this  purpose.     Under  this  fundamental  error,  I  sayl. 
more,  under  this  fundamental  injustice,  Mathematics  was  made  prom-.f^= 
inent;  as  if  that  alone  was  the  essence  of  the  method,  and  the  salva- 
tion  of  humanity.     Low  and  one-sided  qualities  were  honored  at  the 
expense  of  the  higher  ones.     Good  temper,  fidelity,  love,  if  not  joined 
to  these  exterhal  attributes,  were  slighted  and  depreciated.     In  the 
kind  of  praise  which  you  gave  to  tlie  manual  dexterity  of  inexpe- 
rienced  youths  in  particular  departments,  you  placed  this  skill  above 
intelligence,  knowledge,  and  experience." 

The  reader  is  requested  to  notice  the  allusion  made  to  the  over- 
estimation  of  Mathematics,  and  to  the  preference  given  to  inexpe- 
rienced  but  showy  youths  who  occupied  positions  as  teachers,  to  old 
and  faithful  assistants,  whose  influence  could  not  be  estimated  by 
public  exhibitions.  All  these  thrusts  were  aimed,  not  so  much  at 
Pestalozzi  himself  as  at  his  false  ad  viser  and,  at  the  time,  actual 
master,  Joseph  Schmid. 

We  have  already  shown,  that,  owing  to  its  European  reputation, 
the  school  was  made  up  of  incongruous  Clements,  and  was  anomalous 
in  character;  and,  unless  guided  and  controlled  by  the  highest  wis- 
dom,  the  seeds  of  dissolution  which  it  contained  would  germinate. 
While  conceding  this  as  a  matter  of  justice,  it  can  not  be  denied 
that  the  direct  blow  which  caused  its  painful  and  violent  death,  was 
given  by  Schmid.  In  order  to  show  this,  we  propose  to  give  a  brief 
notice  of  his  career.    ^ 

Joseph  Schmid  was  a  Catholic  peasant  boy  from  Tyrol,  who  entered 
the  Institution  Avhile  it  was  at  Burgdorf.     He  exhibited  such  a  power 
in  Mathematics  that  Pestalozzi  took  great  delight  in  his  progress,  and 
spoke  of  him  as   "  a  child  of  the  method,"   "a  great  power,"  etc.,    j 
without  inquiring  very  deeply  into  his  character.  ' 

It  soon  became  evident  to  most  of  the  teachers,  that,  beneath  a 
rough  exterior  and  a  blunt  manner,  Schmid  concealed  the  germs  of  a 
selfish  ambition  and  oyerbearing  intolerance.  He  became  a  teacher 
in  the  school  at  Yverdon,  and  raised  the  mathematical  department 
to  a  high  degree  of  excellence.  In  1810,  he  resigned  his  position  and 
oj^ened_3_schooMi^^  which  he  conducted  with  great  success. 

Although  the  remaining  teachers  had  no  admiration  for  his  charac- 
ter, they  greatly  missed  his  executive  talent,  both  in  his  own  brauch 
and  in  the  financial  and  administrative  departments  of  the  Institu- 
tion. This  was  especially  the  case  with  Pestalozzi,  who,  in  his  ad- 
vancing  age,  feit  more  than  ever  the  need  of  a  strong  band  to  aid  in 


58  PESTALOZZI. 

all  the  practical  details  of  the  business  connected  ^vith  his  school. 
Accordingly,  an  invitation  to  return  to  his  former  position  was  con- 
veyed  to  Schmid  through  Niederer.  Schmid  accepted  the  call,  and 
returned  to  Yverdon  in  1815. 

His  diplomatic  tact  showed  him  at  one  glance  the  advantage  of 
his  Position.  Seeing  from  the  confused  State  of  affairs  under  which 
the  school  labored  that  his  Services  had  beconie  indispensable,  he  was 
determined  to  show  that  he  had  come  back  as  master,  and  not  as  a 
subordinate.  He  possessed  all  the  Clements  of  successful  discii3line, 
eJ£eßtJlifi^^£irit^of_lpxg.,^niL^  through  which  alone  voluntary 
allegiance  is  rendered.  The  nid^_and^inconsiderate  manner  in  which 
he  treated  the  older  associates  of  Pestalozzi,  men  who  had  sacrificed 
their  best  years  in  the  furtherance  of  the  great  reform  in  which  they 
w^ere  all  engaged,  caused  the  first  feelings  of  discontent ;  and  when 
he  added  to  this  sweapi ng~^ha43gp-.s_wi tiini 1 1 ^pn si  1 1  ti ng.^-4H3y  one,  all 
the  teachers  expressed  their  dislike  for  such  arbitrary  proceedings. 

For  a  time  the  ^¥ife-4i£_-^estalozzi3ßtgd_.ag_a^^  be- 

tween  the  hostile  parties ;  and  during  her  last  illness,  the  teachers 
refrained  from  remonstrances,  out  of  sympathy  for  the  deep  affliction 
of  their  venerable  friend.  This^Tiohlfi  wAma«^ied  on_the  llth  of 
December,  181^  {j^rpjjTPgjjj  eigh±y^^irs.  She  had  been  the  faith- 
ful  partner  of  Pestalozzi  for  little  less  than  half  a  Century.  At  the 
funeral,  after  a  hymn  had  been  sung,  Pestalozzi,  turning  toward  the 
coffin,  Said:  *'We  were  shunned  and  despised  by  all;  sickness  and 
poverty  bowed  us  down ;  and  we  ate  dry  bread  with  tears.  What 
was  it  that,  in  those  days  of  severe  trial,  gave  you  and  me  strength 
to  persevere  and  not  lose  hope?"  Thereupon  he  took  a  Bible,  which 
lay  near  at  band,  pressed  it  to  the  breast  of  the  corpse,  and  said: 
"  From  this  source  you  and  I  drew  courage  and  strength  and  peace." 
She  was  buried  under  two  tall  walnut  trees  in  the  garden  of  the 
Castle. 

Soon  after  the  death  of  Madame  Pestalozzi,  their  Indignation 
against  Schmid  caused  twelve  of  the  teachers  to  draw  up  a 
formal  complaint  against  him,  and  present  it  to  Pestalozzi,  with  the 
distinct  intimation  that,  unless  the  arbitrary  proceedings  were  at  once 
discontinued,  they  would  be  obliged  to  leave.  Broken  in  spirit  and 
health,  and  tormented  by  conflicting  emotions,  the  old  man  yielded 
to  his  evil  adviser,  and  accepted  their  resignation.  The  German 
teachers  at  once  left.  Kelieved  of  these  obstacles  to  his  ambition, 
Schmid  began  to  direct  his  weapons  against  Niederer  and  Krüsi. 
The  latter  was  too  gentle  and  peaceful  in  disposition  to  enter  into 
any  conflict,  and,  in   1816,  sorrowful  as  a  child  who  takes  leave  of « 


LIFE    AT    YVERDON.  59 

his  father,  he  severed  his  connectioii  with  Pestalozzi.  Niederer  re* 
mained  aiiother  year,  wlieii  he  also  left,  and  Schmid  was  sole  master 
of  the  field. 

This  victory  proved  the  ruin  of  the  school.  Whether,  misled  by 
vanity,  Schmid  thought  himself  equal  to  the  whole  task  of  managing 
a  complicated  establishment,  or  whether  he  hoped  to  attract  new 
pupils  from  abroad  through  the  great  reputation  of  Pestalozzi  and  his 
own  acknowledged  ability  as  a  mathematical  teacher,  he  was  alike 
dgi^medjo^disappoiniitteiit. 

It  is  difficult  to  comprehend  how  Pestalozzi,  with  his  great  purity 
and  warmth  of  heart,  could  feel  any  real  attraction  toward  Schmid, 
who  had  bereft  liim  of  his  oldest  friends,  and  who  was  so  universally 
disliked.  His  own  answer  to  this  is:  *'  Inexplicable  feelings  drew  me 
toward  him  from  the  first  moment  of  his  appearance  in  our  midst ; " 
"I  have  never  feit  myself  so  drawn  toward  any  other  pupil;"  and, 
"He  threw  a  hard  shell  about  the  kernel  of  my  vanishing  labors, 
and  saved  me." 

It  often  happens,  indeed,  that  persons  of  different  temperament  are 
attracted  toward  each  other,  and  form  friendships,— the  peculiarities 
of  each  setting  off  and  stimulating  the  best  qualities  of  the  other. 
Butjif  such  friendship  is  lasting,  there  must  be  a  unity  of  faith  in 
all  important  matters,  and  their  lives  must  be  devoted,  in  common, 
to  one  noble  end.  No  self-denying  character  can  remain  long  in 
unison  with  one  whose  selfish  aims  are  manifest. 

Here  is,  perhaps,  the  key  to  Pestalozzi's  temporary  delusion. 
I  Schmid's  plans  were  so  artfully  laid,  that  his  selfishness  was  entirely 
concealed  under  the  guise  of  philaiithropy.  He  flattered  Pestalozzi, 
that  the  generous  scheme  of  founding  a  school  for  the  poor,  which 
the  latter  had  concejyed  fiftv  years  before.  should  now  be  reaHzed; 
the  last  years  of  the  old  man's  life  should  be  cheered  by  the  füll  ac- 
complishment  of  the  objects  to  which  he  had  devoted  the  best  part 
of  his  manhood ;  the  funds  for  this  noble  charity  could  easily  be 
raised  by  the  publication  of  his  scattered  writings,  etc.  To  these 
schemes  Pestalozzi  gave  ready  assent.  A  subscription  for  the  sale  of 
these  writings  received  the  signatures  of  several  crowned  heads,  and  of 
a  great  number  of  private  persons  in  all  parts  of  Europe.  Fifty  thou- 
sand  francs  were  collected  and  intrusted  to  Schmid.  Was  this  sum 
the  "hard  shell  thrown  about  the  kernel  of  his  vanishing  labors?" 
It  did  not  save  him. 

The  school  for  the  poor  was  established  at  Clindy,  near  Yverdon, 
but  it  did  not  flourish.  About  thirty  orphans  were  received ;  but, 
from  the  publicity  given  it,  the  many  useless  experiments  introduced, 


60  PESTALOZZI. 

and  the  almost  classical  course  of  study  pursued,  it  was  not  adapted 
to  the  wants  of  the  pupils.  The  unity,  simplicity,  and  enthusiasm 
of  the  other  schools  were  not  there.  After  a  short  and  sickly  exist- 
ence,  it  was  given  up  in  1825. 

The  Institution  at  Yverdon,  deserted  by  its  best  teachers,  and  by 
most  of  its  pupils,  was  given  up  at  the  same  time.     Pestalozzis  feel- 
ings,  on  leaving  a  place  where  he  had  spent  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  cenv 
tury,  and  about  which  clustered  so  many  glorious  as  well  as  humili-] 
ating  associations,  were  of  a  most  painful  character.     In  a  letter  to  a| 

i    friend,  he  writes :  "  It  seemed  to  me  as  if  the  closing  of  the  Institut 

\  tion_jjmsJhej)josin^^of^^m^Jüfe 


CHAPTEK    VI. 
CLOSING  YEARS  OF  HIS  LIFE. 

AFTER  the  events  related  in  the  last  chapter,  Pestalozzi  returned 
to  his  beloved  Neiihof,  whieh  was  in  the  hands  of  his  grand- 
son  who  had  married  a  sister  of  Schmid.  In  tliis  place,  under  the 
influence  of  Ij^cerate^^^^gelings,  he  wrote  *'Song  of  a  Dying  Swan  " 
and  "Events  of  my  Life."  These,  on  accouni  of  the  accusations 
which  he  makes  against  himself,  against  some  of  his  former  friends, 
and  against  the  errors  of  his  method,  have  been  differently  criticised, 
according  to  the  more  or  less  favorable  disposition  of  those  who  have 
reviewed  his  life.  If  they  had  been  written  in  a  calm,  dispassionate 
State  of  mind,  they  might  claim  our  füll  consideration,  as  the  confes- 
sions  of  an  octQgsiiarian,  who  looks  back  upon  a  long  and  agitated 
life,  and  tries  to  separate  its  vaiu  and  perishing  features  from  those 
which  are  destined  to  inimortality.  Such  was,  unfortunately,  not 
the  case  with  Pestalozzi.  It  is,  however,  cheering  to  know  that  he 
pr^erved^to__the  lastjiiss^intexest  £[ü:J:h^causeof  educajjon. 

In  the  Summer  of  1826  he  visited  the  Orphan  School  at  Beuggen, 
of  which  Zeller  was  Superintendent.  The  children  received  him  with 
songs,  and  offered  him  an  oak  wreath.  But  he  declined  it,  saying, 
with  tearful  eyes,  "Not  to  me,  but  to  innocence,  belongs  this  wreath." 
They  then  sang  the  song  which  he  had  introduced  into  his  "Leon- 
ard and  Gertrude,"  and  which,  from  its  associations  with  the  past, 
stirred  his  inmost  soul : 

"  Thoii,  who  from  the  highestskies, 

Every  storm  and  sorrow  stillest ; 
Hearts  that  doubled  anguish  tries, 

Doubly  with  thy  sweetness  fillest ; 
On  the  wave  of  passion  driven, 

Oh,  how  longs  my  soul  to  rest! 
Peace  of  heaven, 

Come,  oh,  come  within  my  breast." 

In  November  of  the  same  year,  h^  was  present  at  an  educational 
Convention  at  Brugg,  where  he  read  an  essay  on  '^  The  Simplest  Way 
to  Educate  a  Child  from  the  Cradle  to  his  Sixth  Year."     His  heart 

(61) 


62 


PESTALOZZI. 


seemed  to  be  as  füll  of  the  subject  as  ever;  and  wlieii  he  mentioned 
the  innocent  ways  of  childhood,  tears  filled  his  eyes.  He  returned  to 
Neuhof,  and  there,  with  his  family,  quietly  celebrated  his  eig]rt3(;^c- 

Soon  after  this  he  -was  prostrated  with  a  fever,  and  in  a  few  days 
was  removed  to  the  neighboring  town  of  Brugg,  in  order  to  be  nearer 
a  physician.  But  the  fever  increased,  and  it  was  soon  apparent  that 
he  would  never  recover.  During  his  last  hours,  he  said:  '' l^r- 
givejn^^^^engmjes :  maYJ^h£:vLfind^peace,  jiow_  that^  gojomy  rest. 
I  should  have  been  glad  to  live  another  month,  in  order  to  complete 
my  last  work ;  but  I  also  thank  God  for  calling  nie  away  from  this 
life.  My  beloved  family,  remain  attached  to  each  other,  and  seek 
your  happiness  in  the  quietness  of  your  domestic  circle." 


The  old  School-hoüse  at  Birr,  with  Pestalozzi's  Grave  before  it. 


He  breathed  his  last  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  February,  1827. 
He  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  Birr,  near  the  old  school-house, 
which  was  afterward  rebuilt,  with  an  ornamental  inscription  to  his 
memory.  No  more  appropriate  monument  could  have  been  devised 
for  him  than  this  —  a  cheerful  home  for  those  he  ahvays  cherished. 
Few  strangers  attended  his  funeral,  for  the  snow  lay  deep  on  the 
ground,    and   his   interment   took   place   sooner   than   was  expected. 


CLOSING    YEAKS   OF    HIS    LIFE. 


63 


The  teachers  and  children  of  the   surrounding  villages   sang    their 
thanks  to  the  departed  at  his  grave. 


New  School-house,  with  inscriptiox  to  Pestalozzi. 

In  conckision,  we  will  add  a  few  words  in  regard  to  his  persoii, 
tQiöper,  and  habits.  In  i^t?l^"^^r  he  was  rather-slenderand^  smalL 
and,  although  not  free  from  occasional  fits  of  nervons  disease,  he 
possessed  great  j^ow^rs  ßf  endurance.  To  a  fastidious  observer,  his 
sjtoo^n^j__£gill'e  and  wriakled  face,  surrounded  by  stift',  bushy.  hair, 
presented  but  little  attraction.  Having  been  urged  at  one  time  to 
have  his  likeness  taken,  he  said:  "Those  who  would  perform  this 
task  must  either  violate  the  laws  of  truth  or  of  taste ;  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other  shall  be  done  with  my  consent."  But  the  beauty 
which  Springs  from  a  pure,  unselfish  spirit,  and  a  heart  füll  of/love 
and  charity  for  all  mankind,  ever  shone  fi-om  his  countenanceJ  and 
made  one  forget  the  uncouth  form  and  piain  features.  These  con- 
stantly  reflected  the  feelings  of  the  moment,  changing  with  the  va- 
rying  moods  of  his  mind;  at  one  time,  expressing  the  heaven  of 
love  and  affection,  and  at  another,  the  sadness  of  care  and  de- 
spondency.  When  animated,  his  eyes  seemed  to  move  forward  like 
briüi^it^stars.  and  then  again  to  retreat,  as  if  they  were  gazing  into 
the  inward  iramensity  of  thought.  The  fire^f^joüthjighted  his 
couiiignaTice  and  shone^even  throug;h  the_wriiikles  of  age.     His  voice 


64 


PESTALOZZI. 


was  Yaiir>"s1y-  mndqjfliprl  —  equally  subservient  to  the  ,g£iiJj£.jiccents 
of  l9:g£,^r  to  the  tliyjü4£i:i^igJoi^es__o£hidignati^ 

His  \£aIk-Si:a§_miexen ;  hmt^  when  impelled  by  bis  lively  temper, 
and  .sloi^only  when  absorbed  in  thought.  His  chestjö:as_,deep  and 
rQunilßd;  his  neck.fi^iff^and_strong.  Every  thing  about  him  indicated 
\  an  instruraent  in  which  all  the  chords  of  human  natiire  were  ißteiiaely 
vibmtiag,  and  from^yvWch  new^strains  ijftrut^  and  love  must  flow. 
His ^temj^erjxi^sjqty^k,  an(l,easili[,.£^5ited  ;  his  conyer^tionjjiiniat^ 
and  rich,4n,4^eiis.  When  at  leisure  among  his  friends,  he  showed 
an  ever-read^j_wit  and  much^_^ower__o£^re£ai^  combined  with  great 
originarityj^£.i]K4ight. 

His  vitgjit^  and  endurance  were  such,  that,  during  the  period  of  his 
greatest  activity,  he  usually  arose  at  twQ.iu:4li£^£,o^clock  in  the  morn- 
ing  and  began  to  diclate.>ta-4us-seßi:etaries.  In  his  domestic  relations 
he  was  uniformly  tender  aiid._a£feQtionate.  To  bis  associates  he  was 
at  once  ^  visfr,  fri^jid^and  fatli^r.  The  most  prominent  character- 
istics  in  his  religious  life  were  his  pj^ofi^ünd^^re^erence  and  dfigp_hu- 
mility.  If  he  failed  to  satisfy  all  in  his  profession  of  faith,  or  by  his 
neglect  of  dogmatic  creeds,  there  can  be  but  one  opinion  in  regard  to 
his  constant_sel£4eili^  and  deed£  o£  practical  bgn^^lence.  Over  his 
faults  let  US  throAV  Christ's  mantle  of  charity — ]ie  has  Joved  much, 
tlj^refore  jnuch  will  be  for^iyen  tQL^hjm^ 


PART    II 


ASSOCIATES  OF  PESTALOZZI 


P. 5  (65) 


INTEODUCTIOX  TO   PAET   II. 


THE  first  associates  of  Pestalozzi  —  Krüsi,  Kiederer,  Tobler,  and 
Buss  —  were  so  intimately  connected  with  his  work,  that  their 
biographies  are  necessary  to  Supplement  his  own.  They  joined  him 
when  he  was  poor  and  unknown ;  but  their  belief  in  the  truth  of  his 
principles  was  so  great  that  they  were  willing  to  sacrifice  their  own 
private  interests  to  the  great  cause  in  which  he  was  engaged.  Some 
of  the  later  teachers  subsequently  achieved  a  higher  scientific  repu- 
tation ;  but  no  others  were  so  completely  identified  wüth  the  very 
conception  and  growth  of  the  method  which  revolutionized  the  edu- 
cational  ideas  of  the  age.  In  addition,  the  lives  of  these  men  give 
other  illustrations  of  that  enthusiasm  which  Springs  from  an  earnest 
devotion  to  truth. 

Besides  these  four  whom  we  have  mentioned,  there  were  many 
others  connected  with  the  Institution,  both  at  Burgdorf  and  Yver- 
don.  Some  of  these  were  from  the  ranks  of  the  pupils  —  young 
raen  who  came  to  Pestalozzi  when  ignorant  boys,  grew  up  in  the 
method,  received  all  the  education  the  school  afforded,  and  then 
became  teachers.  The  most  prominent  of  these  are  Ramsauer, 
Schmid,  and  Steiner,  of  whom  we  give  a  short  account. 

Others  were  already  men  of  culture  and  experience  when  they 
came  to  the  Institution,  and,  merely  wishin^  to  learn  the  method, 
they  remained  but  a  comparatively  short  time.  These  alternately 
taught  and  received  Instruction.  The  names  of  Von  Türk,  Von 
Muralt,  Blochmann,  Piamann,  Ladomus,  Nabholz,  Stern,  and  Ack- 
erman  are  among  the  most  noted. 

Though  all  these  men  have  done  noble  work  in  advancing  the 
cause  of  education,  and  in  disseminating  the  principles  of  Pestalozzi, 
it  would  exceed  the  plan  of  this  work  to  give  any  detailed  account 
of  their  lives. 


(66) 


CHAPTER    I. 
HERMANN   KRÜSI. 


HERMANN  KRÜSI  was  born  on  the  12th  of  March,  1775,  at 
Gais,  a  village  situatecl  amid  the  wild  beauties  of  the  mount- 
aiiious  canton  of  Appenzell.  His  father  w^as  a  carrier,  who  brought 
iip  a  large  family  as  well  as  his  means  allowed.  He  died  when  his 
eldest  son,  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  was  in  his  fourteenth  year. 
Upon  this  son  devolved  the  occupation  of  the  father  and  the  task  of 
supporting  the  farail)-.  Cheerfully  and  contentedly  he  commenced 
his  labors,  and  for  four  years  he  pursued  his  weary  rounds  over 
mountain  and  valley,  sustained  by  a  sense  of  diity  toward  the  help- 
less  ones  left  in  his  charge.     He  might  have  followed  this  occupation 

(67) 


68  PESTALOZZI. 

during  the  remainder  of  his  life  had  it  not  been  for  one  of  those  cir- 
ciimstance  —  sometimes  called  accidental,  but  which  we  would  rather 
term  providential  —  which  entirely  changed  the  j)urposes  and  condi- 
tions  of  his  life.     We  will  quote  his  own  words: 

"  Allow  me  to  lead  your  Imagination  to  the  sunny  height  of  Mount 
Gäbris.  On  the  summit  of  the  pass,  where  the  road  from  Gais  to 
Trogen  changes  its  direction,  my  life  also  took  another  turn. 
On  a  hot  summer  day  in  1793,  I  carried  a  heayy  bürden  up  the  steep 
mountain.  Dripping  with  Perspiration,  I  sat  down  at  the  top,  when 
I  was  accosted  by.one  of  my  relatives.  I  shall  ever  remember  the 
short  conversation  which  decided  the  fate  of  my  life,  and  which 
he  opened  as  follows: 

"  '  It  is  warm.' 

(i  ( Very  warm,  indeed.' 

"  'Thou  art  earning  thy  bread  by  the  sweat  of  thy  brow.  I  un- 
derstand  that  the  school-master  of  thy  village  is' going  away.  Hast 
thou  not  a  desire  to  become  a  candidate  for  that  office?' 

" '  Desire  would  help  little  here.  A  school-master  must  possess 
knowledge,  and  I  have  none.' 

'' '  What  a  school-master  with  us  needs  to  know,  thou  wilt  be  able 
to  learn  readily  at  thy  age.' 

*'  'But  how,  and  where?     I  see  no  possibility  of  it.* 

"  '  If  thou  hast  desire  for  it,  the  needful  will  be  found.  Think  of 
the  matter  and  decide.' 

"Thus  he  left  me.  There  was,  indeed,  matter  for  reflection,  but 
no  ray  of  light  seemed  to  enter  my  soul.  Hardly  conscious  of  my 
load,  I  descended  the  steep  path.  Having  arrived  at  home,  I  pro- 
cured  a  writing  copy,  which  I  wrote  and  rewrote  perhaps  a  hundred 
times,  in  order  to  refresh  my  knowledge  of  penmanship,  which,  with 
reading,  constituted,  at  that  time,  the  principal  branches  taught  at 
school.  After  this  scanty  preparation  I  had  the  courage  to  apply  for 
the  Situation. 

''The  day  of  examination  arrived.  One  candidate,  older  than  my- 
self,  exhibited  his  learning.  He  was  ordered  to  read  the  first 
chapter  in  the  New  Testament  and  to  write  some  lines  —  a  task 
w^hich  it  took  him  half  an  hour  to  perform.  I  w-as  called  in.  The 
examiner  placed  before  me  a  genealogical  table,  from  Adam  to  Abra- 
ham, as  a  reading  exercise.  He  then  handed  me  an  unmended  quill 
pen,  desiring  me  to  write  something.  'But  what  shall  I  write?' 
Said  I.  '  Write  the  Lord's  Prayer,  or  whatever  you  like,'  w^as  the 
reply.  As  I  had  no  knowledge,  either  of  the  parts  of  speech,  of 
orthography,  or  of  punctuation,  the  result  of  my  scribbling  may  be 


HERMANN    KRÜSI.  69 

imagined.  This  was  all  the  examination,  and  after  it  we  retired. 
When  ^\•e  were  recalled,  the  chairman  inforraed  us  that  neither 
had  beeil  found  overburdened  with  learniiig :  one  of  us  was  better  in 
reading,  the  other  in  writing ;  but,  since  my  rival  was  alr.eady  forty 
years  old,  while  I  was  only  eighteen,  they  had  thought  I  would 
sooner  acquire  the  necessary  knowledge.  Moreover,  since  my  dwell- 
ing  (the  town  having  no  school-house)  was  better  adapted  for  a  school 
than  that  of  my  competitor,  they  had  appointed  me  school-master. 

"  No  doubt,  I  feit  happy  at  this  miexpected  decision,  although  I 
had  no  reason  to  be  very  proud  of  my  salary,  which  was  only  one 
doUar  per  week;  while  my  vanquished  Opponent  was  appointed  po- 
liceman,  with  one  and  a  half  doUars  per  week." 

Krüsi  was  thus  destined,  at  the  age  of  eighteen,  to  take  upon  his 
Shoulders  a  heavier  bürden  than  that  which  he  had  just  laid  down. 
This  will  be  understood  when  we  consider  that  he  had  to  instruct 
about  one  hundred  children  of  both  sexes,  in  a  small  room,  and 
that  he  had  neither  experience  nor  the  knowledge  of  the  means  by 
which  Order  and  discipline  are  secured.  Many  teachers  in  his  Situa- 
tion would  have  acted  upon  the  principle  of  the  proverb,  "  Poor 
pay,  poor  work ; "  but  Krüsi  was  governed  by  higher  motives. 
Assisted  by  the  clergyman  of  the  village,  he  soon  succeeded  in  get- 
ting  his  school  in  good  order.  While  working  faithfully  for  the  in- 
terests  of  his  pupils,  he  sought  every-^  opportunity  to  gain  informa- 
tion  and  to  perfect  himself  in  the  details  of  his  work.  His  school 
was  soon  considered  one  of  the  best  in  the  place,  although  his  meth- 
ods  of  teaching  were  but  slight  modifications  of  the  old  mechanical 
routine. 

For  six  years  Krüsi  thus  conscientiously  pursued  his  humble  call- 
ing,  when  the  current  of  his  life  was  again  changed. 

The  year  1799  was  a  hard  one  for  Switzerland.  Foreign  armies 
were  stationed  along  the  Rhine,  which  forms  the  boundary  between 
that  country  and  Austria;  and  the  whole  of  Europe  was  in  political 
commotion.  In  consequence  of  this  warlike  state  of  things  the  east- 
ern  portions  of  the  country  suffered  greatly  from  Stagnation  of  trade 
and  from  actual  famine.  The  western  cantons,being  less  exposed  to 
the  invasions  of  the  enemy  and  in  possession  of  a  more  fertile  soil, 
suffered  less,  and,  therefore,  were  able  to  send  assistance  to  their  un- 
fortunate  brethren  on  the  eastern  side. 

This  assistance  was  not  merely  of  a  pecuniary  character.  The  min- 
ister of  Gais  received  an  invitation  from  his  friend,  Fischer  of  Berne, 
fjo  send  a  number  of  poor  children  to  that  canton,  for  whose  support 
and   education   he  would  be  responsible.     At  the  same  time,  he  ex- 


70  PESTALOZZI. 

pressed  a  wish  to  have  a  young  man  sent  witli  them,  who  was  able 
and  willing  to  receive  a  systematic  course  of  Instruction  in  Order  to 
teach  them. 

Krüsi  says:  "  As  soon  as  I  was  made  acquainted  with  the  Contents 
of  the  letter,  an  inner  voice  told  nie  not  to  let  such  an  opportünity 
for  improvement  pass.  Making  known  my  wish,  I  was  selected  for 
the  work,  and  twenty-six  of  these  young  exiles  were  put  in  my  care. 
To  defray  our  expenses  for  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles,  which,  at  our  rate  of  traveling,  it  would  take  six  days  to  per- 
form, the  selectmen  intrusted  me  with  forty-four  dollars.  We  were, 
however,  every-where  hospitably  received,  especially  at  Zürich,  where 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  celebrated  Lavater,  whom  I  revered 
as  a  being  of  a  higher  order. 

''  On  the  sixth  day  we  arrived  at  Burgdorf,  the  place  of  our  desti- 
nation,  and  presented  ourselves  for  inspection  on  the  Square  before 
the  town-house.  The  benevolent  Citizens  of  the  place  received  us 
there,  and  took  the  children  to  their  respective  homes.  I  was  in- 
vited  to  Fischer's  house.  My  first  emotion  was  gratitude  toward 
God,  who  had  conducted  me  and  my  little  band  into  a  safe  harbor, 
and  had  filled  the  hearts  of  so  many  with  active  benevolence.  I 
had  not  been  obliged  even  to  touch  the  forty-four  dollars  which  had 
been  given  me  for  traveling  expenses ;  but  had  more  than  that  sum, 
all  of  which  I  sent  back  to  my  employers,  w^ho  were  just  enough  to 
return  it,  as  a  token  of  their  approbation  of  my  Services. 

"  I  thought  that  I  was  to  learn  the  art  of  teaching  from  Fischer, 
for  it  was  by  him  that  I  had  been  invited.  But  *  man  proposes  and 
God  disposes.'  Fischer,  as  Providence  ruled,  was  only  the  medium 
to  lead  me  to  Pestalozzi.  My  benefactor  was  soon  afterward  seized 
by  a  violent  fever,  and  died  in  a  few  days.  The  first  one  who  an- 
nounced  the  sad  news  to  me  was  Pestalozzi.  He,  hOwever,  accom- 
panied  it  with  the  kind  invitation  to  unite  my  school  with  his,  and 
to  work  wdth  him  in  future.  This  proposal  I  accepted,  and  we 
obtained  the  free  use  of  the  then  vacant  castle  for  our  school. 

''Owing  to  six  years'  experience  in  a  district  school,  I  had  some 
advantages  over  Pestalozzi,  especially  in  matters  of  order  and  disci- 
pline,  which  he,  my  friend  and  master,  readily  acknowledged.  I 
was  filled  with  esteem  for  the  sublimity  of  his  vicAvs,  encouraged  by 
his  confidence,  and  made  happy  by  his  love.  On  the  other  band,  I 
could  not  approve  of  some  of  his  ways  of  teaching.  He  had  a  pow- 
erful  ehest,  and  w^hoever  did  not  possess  the  same  could  not  Imitate 
his  high-toned  voice ;  and  even  if  they  could,  I  should  have  wished 
a  more  subdued  tone,  both  on  his  part  and  on  that  of  his  pupils. 


HERMANN   KEÜSI.  71 

*'There  were,  also,  points  in  his  method  with  which  I  could  not 
agree.  He  required  that  two  subjects  should  be  taught  at  the  same 
time  to  the  same  class.  Exercises  in  language  were  practiced  during 
a  lesson  in  drawing  or  writing.  To  me  it  seemed  wiser  to  keep  the 
undivided  attention  of  the  children  upon  one  subject:  this  dissimi- 
larity  of  views  never  interrupted  our  harmony,  but  served,  on  the 
contrary,  to  set  the  truth  in  a  clearer  light.  .... 

"The  teachers  in  our  school  were  four  in  number,  and  thrown  to- 
gether  by  a  singular  combination  of  circumstances :  —  the  principal, 
who  combined  with  the  high  reputation  of  an  ingenious  author  the 
less  flattering  one  of  being  a  dreamer  and  enthusiast ;  a  private  school 
teacher,  who,  after  a  neglected  childhood,  had  been  suddenly  thrown 
into  school  work,  and  had  tried  many  experiments  in  the  most  ap- 
proved  methods  without  behig  satisfied  with  the  results;  a  book- 
binder,  who  in  his  leisure  hours  had  tried  to  satisfy  his  longing  for 
music  and  drawing;  and  a  village  school-master,  who  had  done  his 
work  as  well  as  he  was  able  without  preparation  for  it. 

*'  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  many,  looking  at  our  humble 
association,  and  considering  that  none  of  us  had  money  or  fame, 
should  have  a  moderate  opinion  of  our  undertaking  and  have  pre- 
dicted  its  speedy  downfall.     Yet  we  did  not  fail."  " 

Krüsi's  mind,  simple  and  practical  in  its  character,  was  specially 
directed  to  the  arrangement  of  the  elements  of  science  in  their  due 
Order.  For  this  work,  he  was  well  adapted.  The  general  plan  he 
derived  from  Pestalozzis  principles,  but  the  details  he  worked  out  for 
himself. 

At  the  Suggestion  of  Pestalozzi,  he  prepared  a  course  of  Mental 
Arithmetic  on  the  objective  plan.  He  also  prepared  the  necessary 
means  of  illustrating  the  tables  of  units  and  fractions,  the  latter  based 
upon  the  divison  of  a  rectangle.  The  teaching  of  Arithmetic  on  this 
plan  produced  a  rapid ity  and  accuracy  in  the  computation  of  numbers 
which  appeared  almost  miraculous  to  those  who  had  been  accustomed 
only  to  the  old  System  of  ciphering  according  to  given  rules.  Some  of 
the  pupils  educated  at  Burgdorf,  such  as  Kamsauer  and  Schmid,  gave 
to  this  brauch  a  more  extended  application,  for  which  they  obtained 
considerable  celebrity,  while  Krüsi,  who  was  the  real  originator  of 
•the  System,  modestly  resigned  to  them  his  share  of  the  honors. 

The  intimate  relations  which  existed  between  Krüsi  and  his  vener- 
able  friend  at  this  period  are  shown  in  an  extract  taken  from  ''How 
Gertrude  Teaches  her  Children,"  in  which  we  find  an  account  of  his 
early  experiences : 

"  Krüsi  was  not  contented  to  teach  his  pupils  reading  and  writing 


72  PESTALOZZI. 

merely.  He  worked  to  cultivate  their  minds.  The  new  reading- 
book  which  had  been  introduced  by  the  minister  contained  religious 
truths  in  short  paragraphs ;  various  facts  of  Physical  Science,  Natural 
History,  and  Geography ;  and  interesting  information  on  the  political 
Constitution  of  the  country.  Krüsi  observed  that  when  the  pastor 
read  this  book  with  the  children  he  questioned  them  at  the  end  of 
each  Paragraph,  in  order  to  see  if  they  actually  understood  what 
they  had  read.  He  undoubtedly  succeeded  in  this  way  in  making 
most  of  them  perfectly  familiär  with  the  contents  of  the  reading- 
book.  Bat  this  was  only  because  he  adapted  his  questions  to  the 
answers  which  were  found  ready-made  in  the  book,  and  because  he 
neither  demanded  nor  expected  any  other  answers  than  those  which 
the  book  had  put  into  the  children's  mouths  long  before  any  question 
was  devised  to  elicit  them. 

"It  is,  however,  to  be  observed  that  this,  or  any  other  similar 
method  of  catechising,  gives  no  exercise  to  the  mind.  It  is  a  mere 
analysis  of  words,  relieving  the  child,  as  far  as  words  are  concerned, 
from  the  confusion  of  a  whole  sentence,  the  different  parts  of  which 
are  presented  separately  and  distinctly.  It  can,  therefore,  only 
have  merit  when  used  as  a  preparatory  step  to  the  further  exercise 
of  Clearing  up  the  ideas  represented  by  those  words.  The  latter  exer- 
cise, commonly  termed  'Socratic  Instruction,'  has  only  of  late  been 
mixed  up  with  the  business  of  catechising. 

"  It  was  afterward  required  of  Krüsi  to  combine  this  narrow  analy- 
sis of  words  with  the  Socratic  method,  which  takes  up  the  subject  in 
a  higher  sense.  An  uncultivated  mind  does  not  go  to  those  depths 
from  which  Socrates  derived  spirit  and  truth ;  and  it  was,  therefore, 
quite  natural  that  in  his  new  System  of  questioning  Krüsi  should  not 
succeed.  He  had  no  basis  for  his  questions,  nor  had  the  children  any 
for  their  answers.  They  had  no  language  for  things  which  they  knew 
not,  and  no  books  which  furnished  them  with  a  well-framed  answer 
to  every  question,  whether  they  understood  it  or  not. 

•  Imagining  that  every  good  school-master  must  be 
able  by  his  questions  to  elicit  correct  and  precise  answers,  he  attrib- 
uted  his  failure  entirely  to  his  own  w  ant  of  skill. 

''Fischer  exerted  himself  to  introduce  Krüsi  to  different  depart- 
ments  of  science,  that  he  might  be  able  to  teach  them ;  but  the 
latter  feit  more  and  more  that,  with  books  alone,  he  could  not  make 
progress,  because  on  every  subject  he  was  destitute  of  that  prelimi- 
nary  knowledge  which,  to  a  greater  or  less  degree,  books  presuppose. 
On  the  other  band,  he  witnessed  the  effect  which  I  produced  upon 
the  children  by  leading  them  back  to  the  first  Clements  of  human 


HERMANN    KEUSI.  73 

knowledge,  and  by  dwelling  on  these  elements  with  unwearied  pa- 
tience.  These  observations  showed  him  the  true  caiises  of  bis  fail- 
ure,  and,  by  degrees,  bis  wbole  view  of  Instruction  changed.  He 
now  perceived  clearly  that  tbe  tendency  of  my  experiments  was  to 
develop  tbe  internal  power  of  tbe  cbild,  ratber  tban  to  give  bim  a 
knowledge  of  facts,  wbicb,  nevertbeless,  w^as  obtained  as  a  necessary 
consequence ;  and,  seeing  tbe  application  of  tbe  principle  to  tbe  de- 
velopment  of  different  brancbes,  be  came  to  tbe  conviction  tbat  my 
metbod  lays  a  foundation  for  knowledge  and  furtber  progress,  siicb 
as  would  be  impossible  to  obtain  by  any  otber. 

"He  found  tbat  even  at  tbe  earliest  period  of  instruction,  a  feeling 
of  energy  was  not  so  mucb  produced — for  it  exists  in  every  mind  not 
enervated  by  artificial  treatment — as  kept  alive  by  beginning  at  tbe 
very  easiest  tasks,  and  continuing  tbem  to  a  point  of  practical  perfec- 
tion  before  I  proceeded.  Tbis  was  not  done  in  a  desultory  manner, 
but,  by  gradual  and  almost  insensible  additions  to  wbat  tbe  cbild  bad 
already  acquired.     Witb  tbis  metbod  we  bave  not  to  pusb  tbe  cbil- 

dren,  but  to  lead  tbem. He  became 

every  day  better  fitted  to  second  nie  in  my  experiments,  and  witb 
bis  assistance  I  completed,  in  a  sbort  time,  a  Spelling-Book  and  an 
Aritbmetic  on  my  own  plan." 

In  1803  tbe  Institution  at  Burgdorf  was  closed.  Krüsi  re- 
mained  witb  Pestalozzi  during  bis  brief  vacation,  and  accompanied 
bim  to  Yverdon,  wben  tbe  scbool  was  reöpened  at  tbat  place.  In 
bis  ''Recollections,"  Krüsi  gives  tbe  following  sketcb  of  tbe  spirit 
and  cbaracter  of  tbe  scbool  tbere:  *'A  new  era  began  witb  tbe  ar- 
rival  of  tbe  teacbers  and  pupils  from  Müncbenbucbsee.  Tbe  family 
life  wbicb  gave  sucb  a  cbarm  to  Burgdorf  could  no  longer  exist. 
Tbe  Institution  passed  from  cbildbood  into  manbood,  possessed  of 
greater  powers,  but  also  beset  witb  more  dangers.  I  bardly  dare 
give  a  detailed  picture  of  its  life  and  action.  It  bad  its  grand  feat- 
ures,  but  also  some  tbat  were  bumiliating.  Tbe  scbool  rose  to  sucb 
a  degree  of  importance  tbat  it  became  a  model  for  all  Europe ;  but 
it  subsequently  took  tbat  unfortunate  direction  wbicb  undermined  it, 
and  rendered  its  continuance  impossible.  Its  outward  form  only  was 
doomed  to  perisb :  tbe  great  principles  wbicb  animated  it  are  des- 
tined  to  immortality." 

Krüsi's  work  at  Yverdon  is  so  interwoven  witb  tbat  of  Pestalozzi 
tbat  it  is  impossible  to  consider  it  separately.  Tbey  were  like  fatber 
and  son.  Tbe  estimate  tbat  Pestalozzi  placed  upon  tbe  efficiency 
and  faitbfulness  of  bis  co-laborer  may  be  gatbered  from  tbe  following 
passage  taken  from  a  New-year's  address : 


74  PESTALOZZI. 

*' O  Krüsi,  mayest  thou  continue  in  the  fullness  of  thy  love! 
Amiable  and  child-like  amidst  lovely  children,  thou  dost  found  niy 
house  on  the  spirit  of  holy  love.  At  thy  side  and  under  the  mflu- 
ence  of  thy  attractive  powers  the  children  in  our  house  no  longer  feel 
the  absence  of  father  and  mother.  Thou  solvest  in  thyself  the  doubt 
whether  an  educator  can  be  a  Substitute  for  parents.  Continue  with 
increased  energy :  it  is  on  thee  and  on  thy  influence  that  I  build 
great  hopes.  It  is  not  enough  to  know  the  path  toward  the  mental 
cultivation  of  man :  one  must  also  know  the  soft,  gentle  step  with 
which  the  mother  enters  the  sanctuary  of  childhood.  Thou  knowest 
it,  and  keepest  the  child  longer  in  this  lovely  path  than  most  mothers 
are  able  to  do.  Perfect  thyself  in  thy  jiower  and  give  us  the  ele- 
ments  of  a  child's  knowledge  with  that  inimitable  combination  of 
precision  and  simplicity  which  thou  possessest.  Thou  hast  brought 
me  Niederer  as  thy  brother,  and  hast  lived  with  him  in  unity  of 
heart  and  purpose.  Let  the  bond  of  association  be  constantly  re- 
newed.  Let  us  work  together  band  in  band.  You  are  the  first  sup- 
porters of  my  house,  the  only  ones  left  to  me.  I  am  not  always  of 
the  same  opinion  with  you,  but  my  soul  clings  to  you,  and  I  should 
not  know  my  house  if  your  united  power  should  forsake  it.  But  you 
will  not  forsake  it,  ye  firstlings  of  my  method." 

Christmas,  New-year's,  and  the  12th  of  January  —  Pestalozzi's 
birthday  —  wxre  kept  as  holidays  in  the  Institution.  As  these 
days  all  occur  in  winter,  they  could  not  take  from  the  stiifened  soil 
those  children  of  warmth  and  light,  leaves  and  flowers,  of  which 
wreaths  and  garlands  are  woven;  but  the  pupils  supplied  this  defi- 
ciency  with  tokens  of  gratitude,  which  at  the  same  time  tended  to 
develop  their  ingenuity  and  taste.  A  description  of  such  a  day, 
taken  from  Krüsi's  private  joumal,  gives  us  a  vivid  picture  of  the 
festivities  of  one  of  these  occasions : 

"  The  birthday  of  our  beloved  father  was  a  glorious  one,  and  rieh 
in  seeds  and  fruits  for  the  growth  and  strengthening  of  the  mind  and 
heart.  The  decorations  in  the  third  and  fourth  class  rooms  were 
particularly  ingenious.  In  the  third  room  was  a  transparency  of 
Neuhof,  the  village  of  Birr,  and  the  highland  of  Brunegg.  Oppo- 
site  to  this  stood  Pestalozzi's  bust  crowned  w^ith  a  wreath  of  laureis 
and  immortelles.  On  the  right  of  the  bust  was  a  transparency,  with 
this  inscription,  in  German:  'May  God,  who  gave  thee  to  us,  long 
bless  thy  work,  and  us  through  thee ; '  on  the  left,  in  French :  '  Hom- 
age  to  our  Father !     The  pure  joy  of  our  hearts  proclaims  our  hap- 

JSS.' 

The  room  of  the  fourth  class  was  arranged  to  represent  a  land- 


HEBMANN   KEÜSI.  75 

scape,  containing  cultivated  meadows,  and  a  rock  with  a  spring  rising 
at  its  base,  from  which  a  brook  flowed  and  fertilized  the  land.  Near 
this  was  a  poor  straw-thatched  hut,  and  over  its  door  were  these 
words :  '  May  his  age  be  peaceful.'  In  another  place  stood  an  altar 
over  which  hung  a  transparency ;  on  one  side  was  the  motto,  '  Let 
poverty  remember  him,'  and  on  the  other,  '  May  we  be  hke  him.' 
Upon  the  altar  stood  a  collection  box  and  a  letter  written  in  the 
name  of  the  members  of  the  class. 

"As  soon  as  Father  Pestalozzi  entered  the  room,  a  little  genius 
came  forward  from  the  hut  to  meet  him,  and  gave  him  the  box  and 
the  letter.  I  was  requested  to  read  it,  but  surprised  and  affected  by 
its  Contents,  I  could  hardly  do  so.     It  read — 

"  '  De  AR  Father  Pestalozzi  : 

"  '  It  is  very  little  which  we,  the  present  and 
former  members  of  this  class,  have  saved  to  offer  you  as  a  testimony 
of  cur  love  in  behalf  of  the  poor ;  but  it  comes  from  sincere  hearts, 
and  if  it  pleases  you  our  object  will  be  attained.  It  may  express  to 
you  our  purpose  to  do  still  more  for  the  poor,  and,  hke  yourself,  to 
find  our  happiness  in  that  of  others.  May  we  use  well  the  time  of 
our  stay  here,  and,  by  our  efforts,  ever  more  deserve  your  love.  May 
you  be  happy  among  us.  Füll  of  gratitude  to  God,  we  embrace  you 
affectionately,  with  the  ardent  wish  that  you  may  live  to  see  us  fulfiU 
our  promise.' 

"The  money  given  amounted  to  fifty-two  francs.  Besides  the  dis- 
plays  of  the  children,  the  printers  furnished  a  transparency  bearing 
these  words:  'May  it  not  be  your  life,  which  is  in  future  to  be  put 
under  the  press,  but  only  the  ripe  and  beautiful  fruit  of  your 
thoughts.'" 

In  1812,  Pestalozzi  lay  dangerously  ill  for  some  time,  and  was  care- 
fuUy  nursed  by  Krüsi.  Extracts  from  letters  written  during  that 
time  to  the  lady  whom  he  afterward  married,  show  the  pure  attach- 
ment of  Krüsi  for  his  friend  and  father,  and  how  it  was  reciprocated : 

"  Our  father  is  remarkable  even  in  sickness.  He  fervently  wishes 
to  get  well  again  in  order  to  live  for  his  work;  yet  he  also  looks 
calmly  into  the  face  of  death.  Lately,  when  two  doctors  stood  at  his 
bedside  Consulting  whether  to  send  for  a  distinguished  physician  at 
Lausanne,  he  asked,  with  a  serene  look,  if  he  had  to  settle  his  worldly 
affairs.  It  elevates  my  soul  to  see  him  look  with  such  resignation 
from  the  past  to  eternity.  I  pray  God  he  may  be  spared  to  us,  but 
I  can  not  teil  you  how  I  rejoice  to  see  him  preserve  his  peace  of  soul 
under  such  trying  circumstances." 


76  PESTALOZZI. 

When  his  recovery  was  beyoiid  a  doubt,  Krüsi  wrote,  in  the  joy 
of  his  heart:  "  If,  in  the  inscrutable  ways  of  Divine  Providence,  he 
had  died,  I  would  not,  for  the  world,  have  been  denied  the  privilege 
of  being  with  and  nursing  him.  Whenever  he  finds  opportunity 
he  speaks  of  you,  and  blesses  our  union.  You  know  my  faith  in  the 
blessed  Word.  It  shall  also  build  our  Iiouse  —  not  one  of  wood  or 
stone,  but  one  of  peace,  love,  and  sanctified  endeavor." 

From  these  cheering  tokens  of  mutual  esteem  and  confidence,  we 
are  obliged  to  j)ass  to  scenes  of  quite  a  different  character.  It  is  a 
sad  faet  in  human  history,  that  men  who  have  been  most  intimately 
associated  by  mutual  friendship  and  sympathy  have  often  finally  be- 
come  estranged  from  each  other.  This  estrangement,  however,  is  not 
always  necessarily  caused  by  the  loss  of  mutual  esteem,  or  by  the 
unkindness  of  one  toward  the  other.  It  sometimes  results  from 
their  espousing  different  sides  of  a  controversy  commenced  by  others. 

Krüsi  had  to  endure  this  bitter  experience  in  the  contest  which 
arose  between  Niederer  and  his  colleagues  on  the  one  side,  and  Schmid 
on  the  other.  The  latter  had  unfortunately  won  the  support  of  Pes- 
talozzi, and,  in  his  most  arrogant  and  domineering  spirit,  expressed  a 
determination  to  carry  out  his  most  selfish  ends,  even  at  the  risk  of 
losing  the  best  teachers  and  friends  of  the  Institution.  Krüsi  endeav- 
ored  to  act  as  peace-maker,  but  was  met  with  insult  and  derision. 
In  1817,  he  was  obliged,  by  his  own  sense  of  honor  and  duty, 
although  with  a  bleeding  heart,  to  send  in  his  resignation  to  Pesta-, 
lozzi,  which  he  did  in  the  following  language : 

*'Father,  the  time  of  enjoying  thy  presence  is  past.  I  must  leave 
thy  Institution  as  now  conducted,  if  I  am  not  to  lose  forever  my 
courage  and  strength  to  live  for  thy  w^ork.  For  all  thou  hast  been 
to  me,  and  all  I  have  been  able  to  be  to  thee,  I  thank  God.  For  all 
my  short-comings  I  pray  God  and  thee  to  forgive  me." 

The  touching  simplicity  of  this  farewell  shows  the  aifection  with 
which  Krüsi  clung  to  the  better  seif  of  Pestalozzi,  and  his  deep-felt 
pain  at  his  infatuation. 

Simple  and  unassuming  in  his  manner,  never  obtruding  his  Serv- 
ices where  they  were  not  wanted,  Krüsi  ever  chose  to  suffer  in- 
justice  himself  rather  than  to  become  aggressive  or  vindictive,  and 
so  wound  the  sensibilities  of  those  he  loved.  Nevertheless,  he  could 
not  sacrifice  his  principles  and  honor  on  the  altar  of  friendship. 

After  leaving  Pestalozzi's  Institution,  Krüsi  started  a  private 
school  at  Yverdon,  which  was  patronized  by  pupils  from  many 
parts  of  Europe.  Although  his  school  was  flourishing  and  his  occu- 
pation  congenial,  in  1822  he  accepted  a  call  from  his  native  Appen- 


HERMANN   KRÜSI.  77 

Zell,  to  take  charge  of  the  cantonal  School  at  Trogen.  Here  hun- 
dreds  of  boys  were  educated  uiider  his  gentle  but  firm  direction. 
Althoiigh  110  frieiid  of  politics  or  mere  party  questioiis,  he  was  oiie 
of  the  foremost  to  raise  his  voice  in  behalf  of  a  thorough  school  re- 
forni,  the  first  condition  of  which  is  to  have  the  teachers  educated 
for  their  iniportant  calling.  To  his  great  joy,  in  1833  a  Normal 
School  was  decreed,  and  he  was  elected  principal.  Giiided  by  a  long 
experience  in  the  theory  and  practice  of  teaching,  he  devoted  him- 
self  to  this  congenial  task  with  his  accustomed  ardor  and  skill.  In 
the  heart  of  his  native  village  Gais,  surrounded  by  beautiful  mount- 
ain  scenery,  and  aided  by  his  faithful  sons  and  daughters,  he  divided 
his  time  between  the  school,  his  family,  his  literary  labors,  and  the 
cultivation  of  a  garden,  of  which  he  was  passionately  fond.  His 
venerable  face,  which  bespoke  a  high  degree  of  intelligence  and 
goodness,  seemed  always  radiant  with  happiness  and  contentment. 

In  1843,  maiiy  persons  who  had  been  educated  by  him  assembled 
to  celebrate  his  sixty-eighth  birthday,  which  was  also  the  fiftieth  an- 
niversary  of  the  commencement  of  his  school  work.  They  presented 
him,  as  a  token  of  their  gratitude,  a  large  wine-cup  of  massive  sil- 
ver,  bearing  this  inscription: 

Dem  Vater  Krüsi, 

auf  seinen  68.  Geburtstag  den  12.  März,  1843, 

von  seinen  Zöglingen  im  Lehrberufe.* 

The  surprise  and  pleasure  of  seeing  so  many  of  his  former  pupils  — 
some  of  whom  had  come  a  great  distance  —  almost  overcarae  him, 
and  with  emotion  he  bestowed  upon  them  his  paternal  blessing. 

Until  April  of  the  following  year  he  continued  his  lessons  in  the 
schools.  His  last  literary  work  Avas  to  collect  and  arrange  his  poems, 
many  of  which  had  been  written  for  the  melodies  of  his  friend,  Rev. 
Samuel  Weishaupt,  f  These  poems,  with  a  short  sketch  of  his  life, 
were  published  subsequent  to  his  death.  Krüsi  died,  after  a  short 
illness,  on  the  evening  of  the  25th  of  July,  1844. 

To  the  funeral,  friends  came  from  far  and  near  to  pay  their  tribute 
of  respect  and  love  to  the  departed.  In  the  almost  unending  proces- 
sion  w^ere  many  who  had  been  his  pupils  during  his  fifty-one  years 


-  To  Father  Krüsi,  on  his  68th  birthday,  the  12th  of  March,  1843,  from  his 
pupils  in  the  teachers'  calling. 

t  Pfarrer  Weishaupt,  well  known  in  Switzerland  and  Germany  as  the  man 
who  first  organized  the  Männerchöre  (choruses  of  men),  died  at  Knoxville,  Tenn., 
in  1874. 


78                                                          PESTALOZZI.  J 

of  teaching.     Time  had  already  whitened  the  hair  of  some  of  these,  j 
while  others   still  looked  iiito  the  future  with  the  freshness  of  rosy 

youth.  ^ 

At  the  house,  and  again  at  the  grave,  the   pupils   fbrmed  a  circle 

about  the  coffin,  and,  with  tearful  eyes  and  sad  hearts,  sang  their  last  i 

farewell  to  their  beloved  inaster.  j 

Eight  ministers  were  present   at   the   Service  held  in  the   church.  l 

Pfarrer  Weishaupt,  of  Gais,  who  officiated,  paid  a  gracefal  tribute  to  ] 

his  friend  in  the  following  words :  ■ 

*'Ah!    they  have  buried  a  good  man,  and  to  me,  to  me,  he  was  ] 

more.     He  was  my  friend.     I  will  not   say    to   you,  Father   Krüsi  1 
is  dead !      No ;    as  living  I  would  rather  place  the  eternalized  one 

(Verewigten)  before  you!     I  will  not  harrow  your  feelings  with  the  ^ 
thought  that  you  have  lost  him !     No  ;  rather  would  I  shöw  to  you 

that  you  possess  him  continually,  that  he  is  ever  before  you  in  his  ; 

work!"  ^ 


CHAPTER    II. 
JOHANNES  NIEDERER. 


JOHANNES  NIEDERER  warf  born  in  the  canton  of  Appenzell  in 
1780.  In  his  boyhoocl  he  received  only  the  education  which  the 
village  school  afforded.  Later,  he  entered  College  to  study  Theology. 
In  1799,  having  completed  his  studies,  he  returned  to  his  native  can- 
ton and  was  chosen  pastor  at  Bühler.  A  year  after,  he  left  this  place 
for  Sennwald,  a  small  town  in  the  canton  of  St.  Gallen.  Convinced 
that  the  frightful  convulsions  of  the  first  French  Revolution  were  the 
result  of  ignorance  and  a  consequent  confusion  of  ideas,  he  devoted 
much  time  in  both  places  to  education. 

In  his  correspondence  with   his  young  friend  Tobler,  we  find  some 

(79) 


80  PESTALOZZI. 

details  of  his  plans  and  struggles  diiring  that  period.  Not  the  least 
interesting  part  of  these  letters  is  the  faithful  sketch  of  his  character 
which  they  give,  and  which  will  partly  explain  how  it  was  possible 
that  the  same  man,  who  was  instrumental  in  building  up  the  fame  of 
Pestalozzi,  w^as  afterward  placed  in  a  position  of  personal  antagonism  to 
him  and  his  evil  adviser,  Schmid. 

In  one  of  these  letters  he  says:  ''I  was  not  born  to  deal  leniently 
with  weak  and  vicious  sentiments ;  but  rather  to  strike  down  vice  with 
a  club.  Instead  of  coaxing  forth  noble  purposes,  or  developing  them 
Step  by  Step,  I  am  inclined  to  force  them  out.  Have  I,  then,  any 
hope  to  accomplish  something  great?  Am  I  not  myself  the  greatest 
obstacle  to  my  success?" 

In  another  letter  he  justifies  himelf  for  having  left  the  parish  after 
so  short  a  stay.  The  reasons  he  gives  indicate  no  ordinary  mind  and 
character:  "I  thirst  for  activity;  my  heart,  which  was  not  created 
for  repose,  longs  for  a  new  sphere  of  labor,  or,  at  least,  for  the  means 
by  which  to  renew  the  energies  of  my  soul.  Such  a  sphere  is,  un- 
fortunately,  denied  me.  Never  contented  wdth  that  which  is,  and 
restless  in  my  plans,  I  am  disgusted  at  the  monotony  of  my  life ;  and 
any  change,  ev^en  without  iraprovement,  will  be  a  blessing.  As  soon 
as  I  have  sounded  my  Situation,  and,  seeing  the  limits  of  my  expec- 
tation,  am  compelled  to  say,  'Thus  far,  and  no  farther,'  the  wings 
of  my  activity  droop,  and  every  object  loses  its  charms  for  me.  My 
mind  is  attracted  by  what  is  uncertain,  yet  possible.  That  which  is 
uncommon  fixes  my  attention.  A  dim  cloud,  which  hovers  around 
me  and  lets  me  anticipate  but  not  see  paradisical  heights  or  dark 
abysses,  drags  my  mind  from  its  slumber  and  makes  it  rise  in  bold 
flights: — then  am  I  in  my  dement,  even  amid  storms.  Where  the 
peace  of  others  ceases,  mine  often  begins.  The  blow  which  crushes 
their  energies,  rouses  my  pow^ers,  and  shows  me  the  way  to  climb  to 
something  yet  higher.  Here  you  have  the  whole  key  of  my  exist- 
ence,  and  it  will  explain  to  you  many  apparent  contradictions  in  my 
life." 

From  other  passages  we  gather  that  Niederer  constantly  made  plans 
for  the  improvement  of  his  flock,  and  that  he  shared  the  experience 
of  many  a  philanthropist,  in  finding  the  people  very  reluctant  to  ac- 
cept  the  blessings  intended  for  them.  During  the  time  of  his  pastor- 
ate  in  Sennwald  he  became  acquainted  with  the  w^ritings  of  Pestalozzi, 
which  he  greatly  admired.  In  "Leonard  and  Gertrude,"  especially, 
he  found  ideas  expressed  which  he  had  secretly  treasured  in  his  own 
heart ;  and  the  interest  for  their  author  was  intensified  by  the  accounts 
of  the  school  and  its  management,  w^hich  he  received  from  his  personal 


JOHANNES    NIEDERER.  81 

friends,  Tobler  and  Krüsi.  Stimulated  by  their  glowing  descriptions, 
he  visited  Burgdorf,  in  order  to  witness  the  practical  application  of 
the  new  System.  He  seemed  at  once  to  comprehend  the  vastness  of 
the  principles,  and  to  anticipate  the  benefits  which  would  arise  from 
their  general  adoption.  He  saw  education  with  its  roots  deep  set  in 
the  domestic  circle,  growing  upward  with  vigorous  stalk,  and  branch- 
ing  out  into  all  the  j^urposes  and  activities  of  life. 

For  those  who  may  doubt  whether  a  young  man  of  twenty-one  years 
could  have  gathered  from  Pestalozzis  humble  and  fragmentary  work 
such  expansive  views  of  its  application,  we  append  the  following  ex- 
tract  from  a  letter  written  by  him  to  Pestalozzi  on  his  return  to  his 
parish :  ''I  am  daily  more  convinced  of  the  excellence  of  your  method; 
yet  I  sometimes  ask,  in  the  words  of  our  best  teacher,  '  Thinkest  thou 
that  I  shall  find  faith  on  this  earth?'  But,  though  ignorance  and 
vice  may  retard  truth  for  a  time,  they  can  never  suppress  it.  Every 
day  I  see  new  and  surprising  results  of  your  method  which  I  hardly 
dare  express. 

"  Many  inexplicable  problems  now  seem  solved  in  my  mind.  The 
riddles  and  contradictions  of  human  nature  vanish,  and  I  see  nothing 
but  harmony.  You  have  triumphantly  proved  that  populär  enlight- 
enment  is  a  possibility.  I  see  how,  through  it,  men  will  arrive  at  a 
clear  appreciation  of  their  destinies,  rights,  and  duties.  I  see  the  dan- 
gers of  half-civilization  and  super-refinement  vanish,  since  it  satisfies 
the  needs  of  man  in  his  highest  and  lowest  conditions.  I  see  how 
nature  becomes  reconciled  to  science. 

*'  Your  method  will  render  the  learned  man  more  useful  through 
the  application  of  his  knowledge,  and  will  cause  the  unlearned  one  to 
reflect  on  his  condition,  relation,  and  duties.  It  will  give  to  the  child 
the  free  and  unrestrained  use  of  his  powers.  The  usual  order  of  things 
becomes  reversed,  and  faith  is  turned  to  seeing,  hearing  into  judging 
and  knowing.  Thus  streams  of  Light  w^ill  illumine  the  dark  abodes  of 
humanity.  The  unhallowed  dominion  of  superstition,  of  despotism,  and 
especially  the  sad  conflict  between  faith  and  reason  —  that  conflict 
which  has  broken  so  many  noble  hearts  —  will  be  stayed. 

"  On  what  unpretending  hinges  do  we  find  these  gates  of  bliss  sus- 
pended?  On  the  fact  that  the  child  relies  on  perception,  and  the 
teacher  simply  puts  matter  for  judgment  before  his  eyes.  This  fact  I 
recognize  in  its  füll  importance  as  one  of  the  greatest  blessings  which 
God  has  granted  the  human  race ;  as  a  condition  sme  qua  non  of  the 
progress  of  reason,  since  it  raises  the  child  above  the  prejudices  of  the 
teacher,  and  saves  the  human  race  from  the  penalty  of  remaining 
forever  in  a  State  of  tutelage.  Friend,  my  heart  overflows  with  joy 
P.— 6. 


82  PESTALOZZI. 

and  gratitude.  Already  yoii  have  sown  the  good  seed:  the  harvest 
will  not  fall." 

The  freshness  and  depth  of  these  views  so  impressed  Pestalozzi  tliat 
he  made  an  immediate  effort  to  secure  Niederer's  Services.  Little  per- 
suasion  was  required  to  induce  him  to  accept  the  Situation  offered. 
Following  the  voiee  of  conviction,  he  gave  up  his  Situation  and  income 
as  a  clergyman  to  unite  his  fortunes  with  a  man  whom  he  saw  strug- 
gling  against  poverty  and  prejudice.  He  did  this  solely  that  thereby 
he  might  work  more  elfectually  for  the  interests  of  humanity. 

As  there  are  no  records  left  which  show  that  Niederer  taught  any 
particular  brauch  in  the  Institution,  it  may  be  asked  for  what  object 
he  had  been  called  to  Burgdorf.  Blochmann,  a  teacher  and  friend 
of  Pestalozzi,  says  in  regard  to  this  :  "As  teacher,  he  was  intrusted 
with  the  religious  instruction  of  the  upper  classes ;  he  gave  lectures 
on  methods  for  the  benefit  of  the  adults  and  visitors,  and  from  time 
to  time  he  preached ;  he  presented  to  the  public  the  position  of  the 
Institution  w4th  regard  to  education,  and  defended  it  against  unjust 
attacks;  he  shared  with  Pestalozzi  the  extended  correspondence,  and 
after  his  marriage  with  the  gifted  Rosetta  Kasthofer,  in  1813,  he 
stood  at  the  head  of  the  girls'  department  of  the  Institution." 

At  the  most  flourishing  period  of  Pestalozzi's  labors,  Niederer  un- 
doubtedly  exercised  a  great  power  over  him,  for  he  respected  his  su- 
periority  in  knowledge  and  in  philosophical  discrimination.  Biber 
draws  the  following  admirable  parallel  between  Niederer's  mind  and 
character  and  that  of  his  venerable  friend :  "  His  mind,  early  accus- 
tomed  to  soar  above  the  Systems  and  creeds  of  men,  had  penetrated 
through  the  clouds  of  learning  and  the  vail  of  the  letter  to  the  bright- 
ness  of  true  wisdom  —  to  an  apprehension  of  the  substance.  He  was 
distinguished  by  universality,  clearness,  and  precision  of  ideas,  and  an 
uncommon  power  of  abstraction.  Facts  had  no  value  in  his  estima- 
tion,  only  in  so  far  as  they  led  to  principles;  and  he  distinguished 
with  eagle  eye  the  hoUow  raetaphysics  of  the  sophist  from  the  piain 
language  of  truth.  The  assistance  of  such  a  man  was  necessary  to 
Pestalozzi,  whose  genius  was,  like  the  dark  summer  cloud,  pregnant 
with  light,  but  incapable  of  emitting  it,  except  in  sudden  Üashes,  sep- 
iarated  by  intervals  of  deep  obscurity.  Pestalozzi  never  was  able,  often 
as  he  attempted  it,  to  explain  his  ideas  fully  and  clearly  to  others,  or 
even  to  himself.  His  language,  especially  on  abstruse  subjects,  resem- 
bled  the  wavering  glimmer  of  a  lamp  through  the  gloom  of  a  forest, 
which,  while  it  presents  to  the  eye  a  few  objects  in  transient  light, 
harasses  the  Imagination  by  a  thousand  changeable  forms  and  shades, 
moving  to  and  fro  through  the  nightly  mist.     Niederer,  though  not 


JOHANNES    NIEDEKER.  83 

eiidoAved  with  that  creative  genius  which  would  call  a  Avorld  of  new 
ideas  into  existence,  possessed,  to  an  eminent  degree,  steadiness  of 
Vision,  depth  of  thought,  acuteness  of  judgment,  and  perspicuity  of 
expression." 

This  testimony  may  appear  not  sufficiently  impartial,  and  somewhat 
overdrawn.  It  is,  however,  less  enthusiastic  than  the  tribute  which 
Pestalozzi  himself  pays  to  his  worth,  when  he  says,  in  his  New-year's 
address  of  1811:  "Niederer,  thou  first  of  my  sons,  what  shall  I  wish 
for  thee?  How  can  I  thank  thee?  Thou  dost  penetrate  mto  the 
depths  of  truth.  The  holy  secret  of  affection  guides  thy  course ;  and 
with  a  bold  front  thou  throwest  down  the  gauntlet  to  him  who,  sneak- 
ing  in  tortuous  ways,  deviates  from  the  path  of  rectitude,  and  cares 
but  for  effect.  Friend,  thou  art  my  support;  the  care  of  my  house 
dwells  in  thy  heart;  from  thine  eyes  dart  rays  of  light,  which  are 
my  salvation,  although  in  my  weakness  I  sometimes  fear  them.  Let 
peace  dwell  in  thy  soul,  and  let  not  thy  passionate  nature  influence 
thy  spirit ;  then  will  a  mighty  blessing  flow  from  the  fuUness  of  thy 
genius  and  heart  upon  my  imperfect  work." 

The  allusion,  "  throwest  down  the  gauntlet  to  him,"  refers  to  the 
time  when,  in  consequence  of  a  report  made  by  a  committee  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, an  article  was  published  by  the  learned  Haller  of  Göttingen, 
wherein  he  accused  the  Institution  of  Pestalozzi  of  being  hostile  to  the 
Government,  the  aristocracy,  the  clergy,  and,  in  consequence,  to  religion. 
Against  this  calumny  Niederer  wrote  a  spirited  answer,  in  two  octavo 
volumes,  of  which  the  first  was  chiefly  devoted  to  a  vindication  of  the 
principles  of  Pestalozzi ;  while  the  second  contained  a  variety  of  doc- 
uments,  which  served  to  expose  the  malignancy  and  baseness  of  the 
attacks.  In  consequence  of  some  unguarded  expressions,  this  defense 
drew  upon  him  another  attack  from  a  dignitary  of  the  Church.  Nie- 
derer's  reply,  by  which  he  mercilessly  demolished  the  arguments  of 
his  opponents  and  vindicated  the  system  which  had  been  attacked,  is 
a  masterpiece  of  dialectic  skill  and  logical  power. 

During  this  controversy,  representations  were  made  to  Pestalozzi 
that  Niederer  was  influenced  by  no  high  motives,  and  hence  was  un- 
worthy  of  his  regard.  Not  wishing  to  receive  praise  at  the  expense 
of  his  friends,  he  vindicated  manfully  the  noble  and  disinterested 
character  of  his  champion  by  making  the  following  statement : 

"Niederer  has,  indeed,  peculiarities  which,  being  directly  opposed 
to  mine,  I  find  it  difficult  to  endure  ;  but  his  friendship  is  beyond  all 
I  have  ever  experienced  or  dreamed.  What  more  can  a  man  do  for 
his  friend  than  to  abandon  a  well-secured  profession  and  place  him- 
self in   a   Position  füll  of  uncertainty,  disappointment,  difficulty,  and 


84  PESTALOZZI. 

danger?  This  is  what  Niederer  has  done  for  nie.  When  he  joined 
US  he  was  the  only  man  connected  with  the  school  who  had  a  literary 
education. 

"Most  of  my  friends  were  only  interested  in  my  personal  welfare. 
Their  assistance  was  oil  poured  into  my  wounds.  They  afforded  nie 
happy  hours  of  friendship,  such  as  I  shall  never  enjoy  with  Niederer; 
but  they  were  hours  of  mere  personal  sympathy.  The  debt  I  owe 
him  is  of  a  different  kind.  His  friendship  is  shown  in  his  whole  life, 
in  his  persevering  efforts  in  the  service  of  my  cause,  and  in  his  con- 
stant  struggle  to  fit  himself  for  my  work.  Even  his  Opposition  to 
me,  where  he  finds  my  personal  wishes  or  inclinations  at  variance 
with  my  principles,  proves  the  noble,  pure,  and  uncommon  character 
of  his  friendship.     If  he  would  resist  less,  he  would  love  me  less." 

The  sentiments  contained  in  the  above  declaration,  testifying  as 
they  do  to  the  honorable  character  of  Niederer,  contain,  however, 
indications  of  the  fact  that  Pestalozzi's  friendship  for  him  was  not 
founded  so  much  upon  sympathetic  attraction  of  heart  and  feeling 
as  upon  gratitude  and  respect  for  his  superior  intellect.  Those  who 
knew  Niederer  personally  were  aware  that  there  were  sharp  edges  to 
his  character  which  could  not  fail  to  injure  the  feelings  of  susceptible 
persons.  He  could  scarcely  bear  contradiction  when  he  believed  he 
defended  the  right.  Whenever  he  saw  vice  and  falsehood  he  was,  as 
he  confesses  in  one  of  his  letters,  rather  disposed  to  "  strike  with  the 
club  "  than  to  use  the  more  gentle  and  winning  weapons  of  forbear- 
ance. 

When  Pestalozzi  began  gradually  to  defer  to  the  advice  of  Schmid, 
and  change  the  character  of  the  school,  it  roused  the  excitable  temper 
of  Niederer ;  for  he  had  no  confidence  in  the  fidelity  or  honesty  of  the 
adviser,  and  he  saw  the  gulf  into  which  Pestalozzi  would  plunge  him- 
self, his  fame,  and  the  Institution.  In  the  controversy  that  ensued 
the  teachers  were  nearly  a  unit  against  Schmid,  greatly  preferring 
their  own  imperfect  Organization  to  one  more  systematic  founded  upon 
absolute  authority, — one  in  which  obedience  was  compelled  from  w^ith- 
out  instead  of  being  voluntarily  rendered  through  love,  respect,  and  a 
true  sense  of  duty.  They  claimed,  and  very  justly,  that  the  proposed 
changes  violated  the  most  fundamental  principles  of  the  System  which 
Pestalozzi  had  established  and  upon  which  the  school  was  founded. 
They  further  claimed  that  changes  so  revolutionary  would  deprive 
the  school  of  all  the  characteristics  which  had  given  it  celebrity,  and 
would  be  a  confession  that  the  principles  which  had  guided  them  in 
the  past  were  false  and  illusory. 

Pestalozzi,  however,  bending  under  the  weight  of  seventy  years; 


JOHANNES    NIEDERER.  85 

weary  of  the  cares  and  responsibilities  of  his  position ;  conscioiis  of 
his  own  want  of  administrative  talent;  misled  by  the  flattering  rep- 
resentation  and  apparent  honesty  of  his  evil  adviser ;  and  persuaded 
that  he  could  safely  trust  the  guidance  of  the  school  to  younger  and 
more  skillful  hands,  and  so  be  rid  of  his  overwhelming  burdens, — 
refused  to  listen  to  the  protests  of  his  teachers,  and  persisted  in  carry- 
ing  out  fully  the  new  plans.  This  refusal  caused  the  resignation  of 
the  German  teachers,  and  their  example  was  soon  after  foUowed  by 
Krüsi  and  Niederer. 

At  the  final  termination  of  Niederer's  connection  with  the  school, 
an  angry  and  protracted  controversy  arose  between  him  and  Schmid 
in  regard  to  financial  matters ;  bat  the  teachers  of  the  school,  who 
knew  best  about  the  matter,  were  nearly  unanimous  in  favor  of 
Niederer ;  and  public  opinion,  which  usually  bases  its  decisions  on  the 
character  of  the  contending  parties,  was  clearly  on  the  same  side. 

After  his  Separation  from  Pestalozzi,  Niederer  and  his  wife  opened 
at  Yverdon  a  boarding-school  for  girls.  This  school  obtained  a  repu- 
tation  for  its  high  moral  tone  and  sound  intellectual  culture.  Madame 
Niederer's  book,  ''Glances  into  the  Nature  of  Female  Education,"  is 
an  earnest  and  able  Statement  of  the  importance  of  extending  to  girls 
an  opportunity  for  the  same  liberal  culture  that  is  enjoyed  by  the 
other  sex.  As  the  management  of  the  Institution  was  chiefly  in  the 
hands  of  Madame  Niederer  and  her  assistants,  it  was  hoped  by  the 
friends  of  education  that  Niederer  would  employ  his  leisure  in 
preparing  the  biography  of  Pestalozzi,  for  which  task  no  other  man 
was  so  well  fitted.  But  the  contemplated  labor  was  never  performed. 
This  neglect  was,  in  part,  caused  by  some  of  the  late  writings  of  Pes- 
talozzi, in  which  he  seemed  to  disparage  and  almost  disown  Niederer's 
great  Services;  and,  in  part,  by  a  feeling  which  Niederer  shared  in 
common  with  all  the  first  teachers  of  the  school  —  a  reluctance  to  de- 
scribe  the  events  in  which  they  themselves  had  been  the  principal 
actors. 

After  a  residence  of  more  than  twenty  years  at  Yverdon,  Niederer 
and  his  wife  transferred  their  Institution  to  Geneva,  where  they  could 
have  the  advantages  of  refined  society  and  a  wider  sphere  of  action 
and  influence.  There  he  contentedly  spent  the  declining  years  of  his 
life.     He  died  on  the  2d  of  December,  in  1843. 

The  composure  he  feit  when  upon  his  death-bed,  and  the  sentiments 
he  uttered  during  his  last  moments,  are  a  sufficient  refutation  of  the 
charges  of  his  enemies,  that  his  religious  belief  was  hollow  and  un- 
real. *'  I  am  more  fortunate  than  Herder,"  said  he,  "  who  wished 
that  some  great  thoughts  might  enter  his  mind.     God  gives  me  great 


86  PESTALOZZI. 

thoiights,  and  my  soul  is  filled  with  admiration  and  thanks."  Again 
he  Said :  "  Many  go  to  the  other  world  complaining  that  their  mission 
has  not  been  fulfilled.  Mine  yoii  will  find  expressed  in  the  words 
which  I  wish  to  have  written  on  my  tombstone ; "  and,  with  a  last 
glow  of  fervor  beaming  from  his  eyes,  he  uttered  solemnly  the  foUow- 
ing  verse  of  a  German  hymn  : 

"  Ueber  Staub  und  Welt  erhaben, 

Werd  ich  wieder  auferstelien  ; 
Siehe  da,  ich  werd  begraben, 

Schöner  aus  der  Gruft  zu  gehen. 
Halleluja!  mit  Enzücken 

Seh'  ich  Erd'  und  Himmel  an ! 
Weil  der  Tod  mich  nur  beglücken, 

Aber  nicht  zerstören  kann." 


Freed  from  earth's  unhallowed  glitter, 

Christ  bids  me  to  rise  again  ; 
If  Death's  cup  appears  but  bitter, 

It  is  balm  for  every  pain. 
Hallelujah !  with  emotion 

Do  I  look  to  yonder  sky, 
For  my  death  is  but  promotion 

To  blest  regions  there  on  high. 


CHAPTER    III 
GUSTAV  TOBLEK. 


LIKE  Krüsi  and  Niederer,  Tobler,  who  was  born  in  1769,  was  a 
native  of  the  canton  of  Appenzell,  where  he  received  the  ordi- 
nary  instruction  of  a  village  school,  until  his  tenth  or  twelfth  year. 
From  this  time,  until  he  was  twenty-two,  he  assisted  his  father,  but 
em{)loyed  his  leisure  in  study.  He  then  began  his  classical  studies 
in  preparation  for  the  ministry,  and  soon  after  entered  coUege,  but 
was  unable  to  complete  the  course.  In  order  to  obtain  funds  he  en- 
gaged  as  private  tutor  in  one  of  the  aristocratic  faniilies  of  Basel. 
In  preparation  for  his  new  task,  he  studied   the  most  noted  educa- 

(87) 


88  TESTALOZZI. 

tional  Systems  of  his  time,  and,  like  Krüsi,  entered  into  the  labyrinths 
and  deceptive  mazes  of  catechetical  teaching.  Bat  when,  through  the 
enthusiastic  report  of  Krüsi,  he  became  acquainted  Avith  Pestalozzis 
views,  he  was  at  once  impressed  with  their  triith.  He  had  previously 
read  '•  Leonard  and  Gertrude,"  and  his  great  admiration  for  this  work 
had  made  hira  favorably  disposed  toward  its  author;  tlierefore,  when 
Krüsi  came  to  Basel  expressly  to  invite  him  to  join  the  school  at 
Burgdorf,  he  eagerly  accepted  the  offer,  and  at  once  commeneed  his 
labors. 

At  Pestalozzi's  reqnest  Tobler  wrote  an  account  of  his  life  previous  to 
his  Coming  to  Burgdorf;  and  from  this  sketch  we  niake  copious  ex- 
tracts,  in  wl^ich  many  a  fellow-sufferer  may  find  his  own  story  told : 

"After  teaching  six  years  I  found  that  the  result  of  my  labors  by 
no  means  equaled  my  expectations.  The  energy  and  mental  power 
of  the  children  did  not  increase  according  to  the  measure  of  my  exer- 
tions,  nor  even  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  the  positive  information 
which  they  acquired;  nor  did  the  knowledge  which  I  imparted  to 
them  appear  to  have  a  sufficiently  strong  hold  upon  their  minds,  or 
to  be  well  connected  in  its  various  parts. 

''I  made  use  of  the  best  books  that  were,  at  that  time,  to  be  had; 
but  they  contained  many  words  that  were  unintelligible  to  the  chil- 
dren, and  ideas  far  beyond  the  sphere  of  their  experiences ;  and,  con- 
squently,  formed  so  strong  a  contrast  to  their  usual  mode  of  thinking, 
feeling,  and  speaking,  that  it  took  too  much  time  to  explain  all  that 
they  could  not  understand.  This  process  was  in  itself  tedious,  and 
did  no  more  toward  advancing  their  true  development  than  is  done 
toward  dispelling  darkness  by  introducing  a  few  detached  rays  of 
light  into  a  dark  room,  or  into  the  obscurity  of  a  dense,  impenetra- 
ble  mist.  These  books  descended  to  the  profoundest  depths  of  hu- 
man knowledge,  or  ascended  above  the  clouds,  even  to  the  uppermost 
heavens  of  eternal  glory,  without  giving  opportunity  to  rest  the  feet 
on  the  solid  ground  of  mother  earth,  on  which  it  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary  that  men  should  stand  if  they  would  learn  ^valking  before  flying; 
and,  moreover,  if  it  is  indeed  to  be  flying,  wings  must  have  time  to 
grow. 

"  A  vague  idea  of  the  truth  induced  me,  from  time  to  time,  to 
entertain  my  younger  pupils  with  matters  of  immediate  perception, 
and  to  clear  up  the  ideas  of  the  eider  ones  by  conversations.  The 
result  of  the  former  plan  was,  that  the  little  ones  acquired  a  knowl- 
edge of  various  facts  not  generally  met  with  at  their  age.  I  endeav- 
ored  to  combine  this  mode  of  Instruction  with  the  methods  found  in 
the  most  approved  works,  all  of  which  were  written  in  such  a  man- 


GUSTAV   TOBLEK.  89 

ner  as  to  presuppose  a  knowledge  of  language  —  the  very  thing 
wliich  the  childreii  were  to  acquire  by  them.  The  consequence  was, 
that  my  Socratic  conversations  with  the  eider  pupils  led  to  no  better 
results  than  all  other  explanations  of  words  by  words  which  the  chil- 
dreii do  not  comprehend.  The  explanation  which  they  seemed  to 
understand  to-day  was  soon  completely  obliterated  from  their  minds ; 
and  the  more  pains  I  took  to  make  every  thing  piain  to  them,  the 
less  did  they  evince  energy  to  work  for  themselYes. 

"At  that  time,  Fischer,  in  several  of  his  letters,  gave  me  a  de- 
tailed  account  of  Pestalozzi's  work.  From  this,  I  saw  that  the  end 
at  which  I  was  aiming  could  be  reached  without  my  circuitous 
means ;  that  most  of  my  difficulties  arose  out  of  the  very  nature  of 
the  plan  which  I  followed;  and  that  the  artificial  methods  invented 
in  our  age  were  the  very  sources  of  all  the  defects  of  modern  educa- 
tion. 

''Pestalozzi,  on  the  contrary,  was  free  from  my  peculiar  difficul- 
ties, and  I  accounted  for  this  by  the  fact  that  he  rejected  all  our  in- 
genious  contrivances, — all  our  well-framed  Systems.  Some  of  the 
means  employed  by  him,  that,  for  instance,  of  making  the  children 
draw  on  slates,  seemed  to  me  so  simple  and  obvious,  that  I  could 
not  understand  why  /  had  not  thought  of  them.  But  his  principle 
of  educating  mothers  for  that  for  which  they  were  originally  destined 
attracted  me  most. 

"Krüsi,  at  his  visit  in  Basel,  gave,  in  the  girls'  school  there,  prac- 
tical  examples  of  Pestalozzi's  mode  of  teaching  Spelling,  Keading, 
and  Arithmetic,  which  showed  me  that  his  method  was  based  upon 
philosophical  principles ;  and  I  soon  decided  to  join  him,  according  to 
his  wish. 

"  I  went  to  Burgdorf,  and  found  my  expectations  fully  realized.  I 
was  astonished  to  see  what  a  degree  of  enthusiasm  the  children  gen- 
erally  evinced,  and  how  simple,  yet  manifold,  were  the  means  by 
which  their  energy  was  elicited.  Pestalozzi  took  no  notice  of  the 
^  existing  Systems  and  methods.  The  ideas  which  he  presented  to  the 
■  minds  of  the  pupils  were  extremely  simple,  and  his  means  of  In- 
struction distinctly  classified  —  each  part  being  adapted  to  a  precise 
period  in  the  progress  of  development.  W^hateverjv3£,.^cöm|ilicated 
aiui--eactßiseil-Ji©>a:^efi±ed.     By:..3;^_fe\i_wordsJie^jiQ|iv^  and 

with  little^^aß]3arent_^xerti(^^  He  kept 

V     alwa^sj:^^ejto__tlifi^£oiijtjj^  Some  of  his  branches 

of  Instruction  seemed  like  a  new  creation,  and  my  admiration  was 
raised  to  the  highest  degeee. 

"Some  of  his  experiments,  however,  seemed  to  me  unnatural;  for 


90  PESTALOZZI. 

instaiice,  the  repetition  ^of  difficult  and  complicated  sentences,  which 
could  not  at  first  fall  to  confuse  the  pupils;  biit,  on  the  other  hand, 
I  saw  with  what  a  power  he  afterward  led  the  childreii  to  a  clear 
perceptioii  of  the  ideas  which  they  contained.  When  I  mentioiied 
my  doubts  to  him,  he  aiiswered,  'Nature  herseif  presents  various 
perceptions  to  our  senses  in  confusion  and  obsciirity,  and  brings  them 
to  clearness  afterward.'  To  this  I  made  no  reply,  because  I  saw  that 
he  attached  no  value  to  the  details  of  his  experiments;  biit  tried 
many  of  them,  only  to  throw  them  aside  again  as  soon  as  they 
should  have  answered  their  temporary  purpose.  With  many  of 
them,  he  had  no  other  object  than  to  increase  the  mental  power  of 
the  children,  and  to  obtainfor  himself  further  information  concerning  the 
fundamental  priiiciples  on  ivhich  all  his  proceedings  rested.  I  resolved 
not  to  notice  the  apparent  inadequacy  of  some  of  his  means,  espe- 
cially,  as  I  had  come  to  the  conviction  that  the  further  pursuit  of 
the  method  necessarily  involved  the  improvement  of  its  details.  .  .  . 

"Every  day  I  saw  more  clearly  that  the  different  means  of  in- 
struction  were  so  connected  that  each  was  instrumental  in  promoting 
the  success  of  all  the  others,  and  in  developing  and  strengthening  the 
faculties  generally.  In  short,  the  impressions  produced  upon  my 
mind  by  Pestalozzi's  experiment  have  reestablished  in  my  heart  that 
faith  in  the  possibility  of  populär  improvement  which  I  held  so  dear 
at  the  outset  of  my  career,  but  which  I  had  almost  lost  under  the 
pressure  of  Systems  sanctioned  by  the  fashions  of  the  day." 

The  reader  is  requested  to  notice,  in  particular,  the  gentle  but  im- 
partial  manner  in  which  Tobler  criticises  the  work  which  he  saw  at 
Burgdorf.  Although  he  does  not  reply  to  Pestalozzi  when  he  at- 
tempts  to  justify  a  bad  practice  by  reference  to  a  correct  principle, 
yet  what  follows  clearly  shows  that  he  fully  understood  the  falsity 
of  the  argument.  He  probably  saw  that  Pestalozzi,  like  other  re- 
formers,  though  comprehending  in  the  abstract  the  principles  he  at- 
tempted  to  establish,  was,  through  enthusiasm  for  a  particular  point, 
often  led  to  use  those  imperfect  means  and  apparently  useless  experi- 
ments, which  make  some  of  his  first  work  seem  so  inconsistent. 

During  Tobler's  stay  in  the  Institution  improvements  were  intro- 
duced  in  Arithmetic,  Drawing,  and  Language,  and  also  in  his  own 
branch  of  Geography,  in  which  the  greatest  errors  had  been  committed. 

Tobler,  w^hile  at  Burgdorf,  established  the  principle  of  teaching 
Geography  by  reference  to  the  actual  surface  of  the  earth,  with  a  suc- 
cess which  entitles  him  to  the  name  of  Father  of  the  new  tnethod  in  Ge- 
ography. Upon  this  foundation  the  celebrated  Kitter  completed  a 
structure  of  Physical  Geography,  which  the  world  has  justly  admired. 


GUSTAV    TOBLER. 


'*':''^n, 


Tobler  followed  Pestalozzi  to  Yverdon,  wheite  lre,'howev^,v^id  not    Vy^ 

remain  long.     His  reasons  for  leaving  are   thus -soniewjyit  obscWeiy  i 
stated  by  Raumer:   "Tobler's  personal  relations  with  Pes^^^i  were/' 
neither  fortunate   nor  enduring.     The  latter  had  not  the  factUt}!  of      ^/i 
determining  the  proper  place  for  each  of  his  assistants,  and  of  la(£-!  / 
ing  out  for  each  an  appointed  work.     He  required  from  Tobler  sim-  '      / 

ple,  rapid,  and  immediate  results  from  his  investigations ;    but  the  i 

real  value  of  his  views  could  not  be  brought  out  without  their  com-  '\ 

plete  display  in  actual  Operation."     To  this  must  be  added  the  fact  \ 
that  Tobler,  who  was  married,  may  have  been  compelled  to  look  else- 

where  for  the  support  of  his  family.     In  1810  Ave  find  him  at  Mühl-  | 

hausen,  a  manufacturing  town  in  the  neighborhood  of  Basel,  where  \ 

he  founded  an  Industrial  School,  which  at  one  time  contained  about  1 

five  hundred   pupils.      It  came,   however,   to   a  sudden   termination  \ 

through  the  distrustful  spirit  of  some  of  its  patrons.  \ 

He  next  engaged  as  teacher  in  a  j^rivate  school  at  Glarus,  from  1 
which  he  was  dismissed,  in  1817,  on  account  of  the  famine.  After  a  | 
temporary  residence  at  Arbon,  he  established  himself  at  St.  Gallen,  I 
where  for  many  years  he  was  at  the  head  of  a  flourishing  seminary  \ 
for  boys.  The  educational  reform,  which  was  commenced  in  the  \ 
Protestant  cantons  in  1830,  gave  such  a  prominence  to  public  schools 
as  to  render  private  establishments  superfluous.  The  Government  of  \ 
the  canton,  however,  appreciating  the  zeal  and  experience  of  Tobler,  \ 
intrusted  him  with  the  training  of  young  teachers.  For  this  task  he  ' 
was  eminently  qualified,  and  no  one  could  behold  the  venerable  old 
man,  with  his  mild,  expressive  countenance  and  glistening  eyes,  with- 
out partaking  of  his  enthusiasm.  His  principles  for  the  moral  and  \ 
intellectual  training  of  the  young  were  strictly  in  accordance  with  j 
those  of  Pestalozzi,  as  w^e  learn  from  the  introduction  to  one  of  his  \ 
courses  of  Geography:  ''We  must  lead  the  child  to  truth ;  but  that  \ 
only  is  truth  to  the  child  which  he  finds  to  be  so  by  his  own  labor  and  1 
investigation ;  therefore,  we  must  lead  him  to  search  and  find  every  \ 
thing  for  himself^  excepting  the  revelations  of  history  and  the  Bible,  \ 
wdiich  are  beyond  the  reach  of  his  reason.  The  child  arrives  at  in-  ^  i 
dependent  results  chiefly  by  his  Observation  and  Intuition.  To  see,in  i 
a  physical  sense,  means  to  obtain  the  image  of  an  object,  as  a  form 
on  the  retina  of  the  eye ;  in  an  intellectual  sense,  to  obtain  the  per- 
ception  of  that  object  in  the  mind  by  a  process  of  Intuition.  If  ^ 
teachers  wish  to  develop  the  minds  of  the  children,  they  must  make  l 
use  of  their  senses  as  a  medium  through  which  to  appeal  to  their  1 
understanding ;  hence  the  necessity  of  resorting  to  a  System  of  ques-  ^ 
tioning      The  questions  must  not  be  so  arranged  that  they  aid  only  \ 


92  PESTALOZZI. 

in  tlie  formation  of  new  ideas,  but  also  rouse,  exercise,  and  strengthen 
the  intellectual  powers." 

Although  Tobler  did  not,  as  far  as  we  know,  publish  any  work  on 
science,  he  wrote  many  articles  upon  general  topics  of  education  for 
the  Journals.  In  his  younger  years  he  also  published  some  novels, 
which  are  distinguished  for  their  originality  and  the  success  with 
which  they  mmgle  Instruction  with  amusement. 

His  last  years,  which  were  passed  in  the  family  of  his  son,  at  Nyons, 
near  Geneva,  were  füll  of  that  quiet  enjoyment  which  results  from  a 
life  spent  in  endeavors  to  proniote  the  welfare  of  mankind. 

He  died  in  1843. 


CHAPTER    ly. 
JOHANNES    BUSS. 

JOHANNES  BUSS  was  a  native  of  Tübingen,  Würtemberg  His 
father  held  there  a  subordinate  position  in  a  theological  school,  and 
was,  therefore,  able  to  secure  for  his  son  good  instruction  in  his  early 
years.  Before  the  boy  was  twelve  years  old  he  had  acquired  considera- 
ble  knowledge  of  Greek,  Hebrew,  Logic,  and  Rhetoric.  He  also  ap- 
plied himself  to  the  study  of  Drawing  and  Music,  but  through  want  of 
means  he  was  obliged  to  give  these  up,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen  was 
apprenticed  to  a  book-binder. 

On  account  of  failing  health,  he  left  his  trade  and  went  to  Basel, 
Switzerland,  hoping  to  earn  his  bread  there  by  his  knowledge  of  mu- 
sic. He  was  too  shy  to  obtain  what  he  wanted,  and  was  obliged  to 
resort  again  to  his  trade.  He,  however,  still  dreamed  of  the  time 
when  a  better  opportunity  might  enable  him  to  pursue  a  literary 
career. 

About  this  time,  he  became  acquainted  with  Tobler,  who  informed 
him  that  Pestalozzi  was  in  need  of  a  master  of  music  and  drawing. 
Buss  says:  "I  was  fully  aware  of  my  deficiencies,  and  the  hope  that 
I  should  find  an  opportunity  for  improvement  induced  me  to  go  to 
Burgdorf  in  spite  of  the  warnings  which  I  received  against  forming 
any  connection  with  Pestalozzi,  who,  they  said,  was  crazy,  and  knew 
not  himself  what  he  was  about.  In  proof  of  the  assertion  they  re- 
lated several  stories;  as,  for  instance,  that  he  once  went  to  Basel 
with  his  shoes  tied  with  straw,  because  he  had  given  his  silver  buck- 
les  to  a  beggar.  I  did  not  doubt  about  the  buckles,  but  that  he  was 
mad  I  questioned.  Determined  to  see  for  myself,  I  went  to  Burg- 
dorf to  fill  the  vacant  position. 

"  At  our  first  interview,  he  came  down  from  an  upper  room  with 
his  stockings  about  his  heels,  and  his  coat  covered  with  dust.  His 
whole  appearance  was  so  miserable  that  I  was  inclined  to  pity  him ; 
yet  there  was  something  in  his  expression  so  grand  that  I  looked 
upon  him  with  veneration.     His  benevolence,  the  cordial  reception 

(93) 


94  PESTALOZZI. 

he  gave  me,  liis  unpretending  simplicity,  and  the  dilapidated  condi- 
tion  in  which  he  stood  before  me  —  the  whole  man  impressed  me 
powerfully.  I  was  his  in  one  instant.  No  man  had  ever  so  sought 
my  heart,  none  so  won  my  confidence. 

"  The  following  morning  I  entered  his  school,  and  at  first,  I  confess, 
I   saw  in   it  nothing    but   apparent    disorder    and    an    uncomfortable 
bustle.         .....         I  thought  the  children  were  de- 

tained  too  long  at  one  point ;  but  I  was  reconciled  to  this  when  I  saw 
the  perfection  which  they  attained  in  their  first  exercises,  and  the  ad- 
vantages  which  it  insured  to  them  in  their  further  progress.  I  now 
perceived,  for  the  first  time,  the  disadvantages  under  which  I  myself 
had  labored,  in  consequence  of  the  incoherent  and  desultory  manner  in 
which  I  had  been  taught  in  my  boyhood;  and  I  began  to  think  that 
if  I  had  been  kept  to  the  first  elements  with  similar  perseverance,  I 
should  have  been  able  afterward  to  help  myself,  and  thus  to  escape 
all  the  sufferings  and  melancholy  which  I  had  endured. 

"This  experience  perfectly  agrees  with  Pestalozzi's  idea,  that,  by 
his  method,  men  are  to  be  enabled  to  help  themselves,  since  *  there  is 
no  one,'  as  he  says,  *  in  God's  wide  world,  who  is  willing  or  able  to 
help  them.'  I  shuddered  when  I  read  this  passage  for  the  first  time 
in  '  Leonard  and  Gertrude.'  But,  alas !  the  experience  of  my  life  has 
taught  me  the  truth  of  it.  I  saw  clearly  that  my  inability  to  pur- 
sue  the  plan  of  my  younger  years  in  an  independent  manner  arose 
chiefly  from  the  superficiality  with  w^hich  I  had  been  taught.  I  had 
learned  an  art  —  that  of  drawing — but  I  was  ignorant  of  the  basis 
on  which  it  rested ;  and,  when  I  was  called  upon  to  apply  it  in  a 
manner  consistent  with  its  nature,  I  found  myself  utterly  at  a  loss  to 
know  w^hat  its  nature  was.         ........ 

"I  tried  to  reduce  the  science  to  its  elements,  and  in  my  endeavors 
to  reach  them,  I  drew  an  endless  variety  of  figures,  which,  it  is  true, 
might  be  called  simple,  but  which  w^re  utterly  unfit  to  illustrate  the 
elementary  laws  of  which  Pestalozzi  was  in  search.  At  last  I  began 
to  suspect  that  I  ought  to  know  less  than  I  did  know,  or  that,  at 
least,  I  must  temporarily  discard  a  portion  of  my  knowledge,  in  order 
to  descend  to  those  single  elements  by  which  I  saw  him  produce  such 
powerful  and,  to  me,  unattainable  eflTects.     In  this  I  succeeded  at  last. 

"But  I  feil  into  another  extreme.  Before,  I  had  seen  nothing 
but  objects ;  now,  I  saw  nothing  but  lines ;  and  I  imagined  that  chil- 
dren must  be  exercised  on  these  lines  exclusively,  in  every  brauch  of 
drawing,  before  real  objects  were  to  be  placed  before  them  for  Imita- 
tion, or  even  for  comparison. 

"  But  Pestalozzi  viewed  his  drawing  lessons  in  connection  with  the 


JOHANNES   BUSS.  95 

whole   of   his   method,   and  with  nature,  which   will   not  allow  any 
brancli  of  art  to  reraain  isolated.     His  intention  was,  to  lay  before 
the  mind  two  distinct  series  of  figures,  of  which  one  should  be  con- 
tained  in  his  book  for   little   children,  and   the   other  should  furnish 
practical  illustrations.     The  first  was  intended  to  siipply  the  percep- 
tion  of  the  children  with  a  knowledge  of  things  in  connection  with 
their  names ;  the  second  was  calculated  to  combine  the  practical  appli- 
cation  of  art  with   the   theoretical  knowledge  of  its  laws,  by  linking 
the  perception  of  abstract  forms  to  the  outline  of  objects,  which  cor- 
responded  with  these.*      ......... 

"I  was  afraid  lest,  by  giving  to  the  child  real  objects,  his  percep- 
tion of  the  outline  would  be  disturbed ;  but  Pestalozzi  did  not  wish  to 
cultivate  any  power  contrary  to  nature,  saying :  '  Nature  gives  no 
lines,  but  only  objects.  The  lines  are  presented  to  the  child,  that  he 
may  view  the  objects  correctly;  but  to  take  the  objects  from  him,  in 
Order  to  make  him  see  lines  only,  would  be  exceedingly  wrong.'" 

Buss  labored  zealously  in  his  new  position,  although  he  could  not  at 
first  see  the  relation  between  the  principles  and  means  suggested  to 
him  by  his  enthusiastic  teacher.  Even  after  he  thoroughly  under- 
stood  the  application  of  the  method  to  his  own  subjects,  he  seemed 
unable  to  comprehend  its  relation  to  other  branches.  This,  probably, 
explains  the  fact  that  we  do  not  find  him,  after  leaving  Pestalozzi's 
Institution,  engaged  in  any  prominent  educational  work. 


*  This  plan  has  been  adopted  and  carried  out  in  "Krüsi's  System  of  Draw- 
ing" — the  first  series  corresponding  to  the  exercises  of  the  "Inventive  Course;" 
the  second,  to  those  of  the  "Applied  Course." 


CHAPTER    V. 

ASSISTANTS  OF  PESTALOZZI. 

JOHANNES  RAMSAUER,  who  was  a  iiative  of  Herisau,  canton 
of  Appenzell,  was  born  in  1790.  He  was  the  youngest  of  seven 
children,  all  of  whom  assisted  their  widowed  mother  in  the  business 
which  supported  the  family.  When  eight  years  of  age  he  was  sent 
to  school,  and  in  two  years  scarcely  learned  to  read  and  write. 
At  home  he  received  from  his  good  mother  lessons  in  industry,  order, 
and  obedience. 

Although  not  so  entirely  destitute  as  many  at  that  time,  his  mother, 
at  his  urgent  request,  allowed  him  to  emigrate  with  the  poorer  chil- 
dren. The  boy,  now  only  ten  years  of  age,  first  wandered  to  Schleu- 
men,  but  finally  went  to  Burgdorf,  where  he  was  received  into  Krüsi's 
school.  In  the  same  year  this  school  was  united  with  that  of  Pesta- 
lozzi :  thus  Ramsauer  became  a  pupil  of  the  great  reformer. 

"In  the  school,"  says  Ramsauer,  *'I  learned  no  more  than  the 
rest;  but  Pestalozzi's  holy  zeal,  self-forgetting  love,  and  earnest,  im- 
pressive  manner  knit  my  childish,  grateful  heart  to  his  forever." 
Ramsauer  remained  several  years  at  Burgdorf,  as  pupil,  table-waiter, 
and  finally  as  under-teacher.  He  was  a  favorite  with  Pestalozzi,  and 
was  often  employed  by  him  as  private  secretary,  working  in  this  ca- 
pacity  from  early  dawn  tili  late  at  night. 

In  1816,  he  left  the  Institution  to  teach  at  Würzburg,  and  also  to 
attend  the  lectures  at  the  University  there.  He  acquired  such  a  rep- 
utation  that,  in  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  he  was  invited  to  be- 
come  teacher  of  the  Princes  Alexander  and  Peter,  and  also  to  take 
Charge  of  an  elementary  school  for  children  of  the  educated  classes 
in  Stuttgart.  He  accepted  both  these  situations,  and  in  1820  at- 
tended  the  young  princes  to  the  court  of  their  grandfather  at  Olden- 
burg, in  Order  to  continue  their  education. 

In  1826,  he  was  appointed  teacher  of  the  Duchesses  Amelia  and 
Frederika,  of  Oldenburg,  and  at  the  same  time  he  conducted  a 
(96) 


HIS   ASSISTANTS.  97 

school  for  girls  with  great  success.  While  there  he  published  a  work 
on  "Drawing,"  and  another  entitled  ^'Instruction  in  Form,  Size,  and 
Substance;"  also  "Brief  Sketches  of  my  Pedagogical  Life,"  in  which 
he  narrates  many  events  of  the  school  life  at  Burgdorf  and  Yverdon, 
and  makes  many  interesting  remarks  on  education  in  general.  From 
the  latter  we  select  as  foUows  : 

''While  a  pupil,  Pestalozzi  often  took  me  for  a  walk  along  the 
banks  of  the  river  Emme ;  and  for  recreation  and  amusement  he 
looked  for  different  kinds  of  stones.  I  also  took  part  in  this  occu- 
pation,  although  millions  lay  there,  and  I  did  not  know  for  which 
to  search.  He  only  knew  a  few  kinds,  but,  nevertheless,  he  dragged 
along  home  every  day  with  pockets  and  handkerchiefs  füll ;  though, 
after  once  deposited,  they  were  never  looked  at  again.  It  was  not  an 
easy  thing  to  find  a  whole  pocket  handkerchief  at  Burgdorf;  all  of 
them  had  been  torn  carrying  stones.  Pestalozzi  retained  this  fancy 
through  life." 

"At  Burgdorf  an  active  and  entirely  new  mode  of  life  opened  to- 
me.  So  much  love  and  simplicity  reigned  in  the  Institution !  Life 
was  so  simple !  so  patriarchal !  Not  much  was  learned,  it  is  true, 
but  Pestalozzi  was  the  father  and  the  teachers  were  the  friends  of 
the  pupils.  Pestalozzi's  morning  and  evening  prayers  had  such  a 
fervor  that  they  carried  away  every  one  who  took  part  in  them. 
He  read  and  explained  the  hymns  impressively,  exhorted  each  of 
the  pupils  to  private  prayer,  and  heard  them  repeat  every  evening 
those  they  had  learned  at  home;  while  at  the  same  time  he  taught 
them  that  mere  reciting  prayers  by  rote  was  worthless,  and  that 
every  one  should  pray  from  his  own  heart.         ..... 

"  Such  exhortations  became  more  and  more  rare  at  Yverdon.  So 
long  as  the  Institution  was  small,  Pestalozzi  could,  by  his  thoroughly 
amiable  personal  character,  adjust  at  once  any  slight  discordance. 
He  stood  in  close  relation  with  each  individual  member  of  the  circle, 
and  could  thus  observe  every  peculiarity  of  disposition,  and  influence 
it  according  to  necessity. 

"This  ceased  when  the  family  life  was  transformed  into  that  of  an 
organized  school.  Now  the  individual  was  lost  in  the  crowd,  and,  con- 
sequently,  there  arose  a  desire  on  the  part  of  each  to  make  himself 
feit  and  noticed.  Every  day  egotism  made  its  appearance  in  more 
prominent  forms.  Envy  and  jealousy  rankled  in  the  hearts  of  many. 
Pestalozzi,  however,  remained  the  same  noble-hearted  man,  living 
only  for  the  welfare  of  others,  and  infusing  his  own  spirit  into  the 
household." 

P.  7. 


98  PESTALOZZI. 

"I  have  already  said  that  tlie  finer  social  graces  miist  either  be  in- 
born  or  developed  by  culture.  Even  of  the  simple  politeness  of  a 
boy's  manners  this  is  true.  Those  to  wliom  this  gift  is  natural  are 
usually  of  ratlier  weak  or  superficial  intellects  ;  but  they  get  well 
through  the  world,  that  is,  easily  attain  eminence  in  society.  This 
opinion  has  led  me  to  another  and  a  more  important  one,  nainely,  that 
in  practical  life  it  is  of  little  moment  whether  one  has  *  a  good  head.' 
It  is  of  much  greater  importance,  what  is  one's  character  for  truthful- 
ness  and  perseverance ;  and  much  more  that  he  keeps  his  faith, 
through  which,  if  it  be  the  right  kind,  comes  the  blessing. 

*'Every  one  of  even  moderate  experience  will  agree  with  me  that 
those  nien  who  have  filled  important  places  in  the  world  are  in- 
debted  to  their  truthfulness,  perseverance,  and  uprightness,  much 
more  than  to  their  '  good  head '  or  their  genius.  Even  in  the  ele- 
mentary  schools  this  truthfulness  and  perseverance  can  be  cultivated, 
proved,  and  established;  but  it  is  home  education  Avhich  must  do 
most  of  it. 

"It  has  often  troubled  me  to  hear  of  a  'smart  boy'  in  a  family  or 
school,  and  to  see  those  undervalued  who  lack  such  a  qualification. 
Such  praise  discourages  those  reckoned  inferior  (who  subsequently 
may  excel  them),  and  only  makes  those  possessed  of  this  apparent 
talent  conceited  and  heartless.  ....... 

**There  are  teachers  who  lay  great  stress  upon  learning  quickly, 
forgetting  that  the  most  superficial  scholars  are  often  the  quiekest. 
Such  will  find  that  these  forget  just  as  quickly ;  while  things  acquired 
w4th  more  pains  remain  longer  in  the  memory,  and  are  better  under- 
stood.  The  principal  thing  is  thoroughness :  it  is  this  only  which 
truly  educates  —  which  teils  upon  character.  Merely  to  know  more 
or  less  is  of  little  significance.  Whoever  imagines  that  he  knows 
very  much,  does,  in  fact,  know  pitifully  little.  This  thoroughness 
should  be  a  characteristic  even  of  the  lowest  elementary  school:  it 
is  a  result  of  perseverance.  A  condition  preparatory  to  this  thor- 
oughness is,  that  the  pupil  be  constrained — without  any  apparent 
force,  however  —  into  thinkiiig  and  laboring  independently.  I  have 
often  said  to  an  indolent  or  compliant  pupil,  who  imitated  others  too 
easily,  '  Your  own  eating  must  make  you  fat ;  your  own  thinking 
must  make  you  wise,  and  your  own  practice  must  make  you  dex- 
terous.' 

"A  condition  of  thoroughness  is  repetition  —  constant  repetition. 
This  is  to  many  teachers  too  wearisome  or  slow ;  but  a  teacher  whose 
heart  is  in  his  work  will  be  drilling  often  and  earnestly,  and  always 
in  new  ways;  so  that  both  the  pupil  and  himself  will  always  be  get- 


HIS   ASSISTAN/FS.  .     ,      ,  ...    ]  '     '       99 

ting  at  a  new  and  interesting  side  of  the  subject/  A'tejidhei*' "Wlio 
labors  in  two  or  three  departments  of  study  with  vivacity  and  pleas- 
ure,  and  gives  really  thorough  Instruction  —  such  as  educates  —  will 
naturally  have  neither  time  nor  wish  to  spend  several  hours  daily  in 
mere  amusements.  His  work  and  progress  in  what  is  really  useful 
for  time  and  eternity  will  constitute  his  greatest  happiness." 

He  sums  up  the  different  experiences  of  his  life  thus :  ''I  learned 
at  home  to  work,  pray,  and  obey ;  in  Schleumen,  to  run,  climb,  and 
jump;  with  Pestalozzi,  to  work,  think,  and  observe;  during  my  vari- 
ous  journeys,  to  be  independent,  and  help  myself ;  in  Würzburg  and 
Stuttgart,  to  be  more  modest,  and  to  know  more  of  family  life ;  in 
Oldenburg,  to  love  the  word  of  God,  to  endure  good  and  evil  with 
equanimity,  and  that  it  is  possible  to  live  very  happily  here  below 
and,  at  the  same  time,  prepare  for  the  better,  future  life." 


Joseph  Schmid,  whom  we  have  already  mentioned  in  the  life  of 
Pestalozzi,  went  to  Burgdorf  from  the  mountains  of  Tyrol.  He  was 
entirely  wjthiiut^j^uUure^^a^  possessed  a  rare  talent 

for  Mathematics,  great  industry  and  energy  of  character,  and  an  un- 
bounded  ambition.  He  was  a  devout  Catholic,  and  is  said  to  have 
prayed  to  the  Virgin  Mary  "  to  grant  him  strength  to  become  the 
first  Scholar  in  the  school."  He  evidently  did  not  rely  upon  faith 
alone  to  accomplish  his  purpose ;  for  Pestalozzi  says  of  him :  "  On 
account  of  his  quiet,  efficient  activity  and  eager  efforts  after  every 
attainment  in  learning,  he  soon  surpassed  all  his  teachers,  and  even 
became  the  instructor  of  those  who,  but  a  short  time  before,  had  con- 
sidered  him  the  most  uncultivated  child  that  had  ever  been  in  the 
Institution." 

Schmid's  prß^^icaJ-J^isiixgss  capacity.jiid  Jxaliit&..Q£-Q£d;Sr  ^^^  thor- 
oughness — qualities  which  Pestalozzi  did  not  possess — enabled  him  in 
time  to  obtain  great  influence  in  the  management  of  the  school.  His 
demeanor,  however,  toward  the  other  teachers  became  so  disagreeable 
and  arbitrary,  that,  in  1810,  an  open  feud  broke  out,  and  he  was 
dismissed. 

Soon  after,  he  took  charge  of  a  school  at  Bregenz,  where  he  pub- 
lished  a  work  entitled,  "  My  Experience  and  Ideas  of  Education,  In- 
stitutions, and  Schools,"  in  which  he  attempted  to  vindicate  himself, 
and  throw  all  the  blame  of  the  quarrel  upon  the  other  teachers. 

The  absence  of  his  practical  guidance  and  financial  skill  was  deeply 
feit  by  all.     Even  Niederer,  who  had  led  the  Opposition  against  him, 


100  PESTALOZZI. 

\^6te'itt  •k'cöhciiiätory  manner,  and,  in  1815,  gave  him  a  pressing 
invitation  to  return,  which  he  accepted.  At  once  he  commenced  a 
complete  reform  in  the  econoray  of  the  school,  and  interfered  with 
the  other  teachers  in  such  a  domineering  spirit,  that  a  silent  but 
great  antipathy  to  him  again  arose.  This  at  last  broke  out  into  open 
hostility,  the  result  of  which  we  have  narrated  in  the  first  part  of 
this  work. 

Of  his  life  after  Pestalozzi's  school  was  broken  up  but  little  is 
known.  We  last  hear  of  him  in  Paris,  where  he  gave  private  lessons 
in  Drawing  and  Mathematics — no  doubt  with  his  usual  ability.  In 
1850  he  died  there,  alone  and  uncared  for,  save  by  a  servant. 


Steiner  was  a  rough,  uncouth  peasant  boy  from  the  canton  of 
Berne,  who,  from  an  intense  desire  for  knowledge,  went  to  Burgdorf. 
Not  having  sufficient  money  to  pay  his  board,  he  engaged  in  some 
manual  labor  which  allowed  him  to  attend  school  a  portion  of  the 
day.  He  was  deficient  in  verbal  memory,  but,  by  steady  industry 
and  perseverance,  he  developed  great  logical  and  reasoning  powers, 
which  soon  gave  him  prominence  in  the  mathematical  department  of 
the  school.  After  leaving  Pestalozzi  he  taught  in  a  gymnasium  in 
Germany,  and  ultimately  became  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the 
University  of  Berlin.  While  there  he  published  some  valuable  and 
original  works  upon  Mathematical  Science,  and  attained  considerable 
eminence  in  the  literary  world. 


Part  iii 


EXTRACTS 


mOM  THE 


Weitis-gs  of  Pestalozzi, 


CHAPTEK    I. 
SOCIAL  AND  POLITICAL  SUBJECTS. 

THE  writings  of  Pestalozzi  were  published  in  a  collected  form  in 
1819,  by  Cotta,  in  Stuttgart.  They  appeared  under  the  super- 
vision  of  Schmid,  who,  however,  neglected  to  give  tliem  in  their  chron- 
ological  Order,  and  omitted  some  important  documents. 

With  few  exceptions,  these  works  have  not  been  translated  into 
English ;  partly  on  account  of  their  experimental  and  theoretical  char- 
acter,  and  partly  because  the  subjects  treated,  until  within  a  compara- 
tively  recent  period,  have  attracted  little  attention  froni  the  English- 
speaking  people.  Besides,  from  their  want  of  logical  arrangement, 
and  the  peculi^r  style  in  which  they  are  written,  they  would  hardly 
have  received  justice  at  the  hands  of  critics,  or  have  been  understood 
in  the  spirit  in  which  they  were  originally  conceived. 

We  make  these  extracts  now,  because  w^e  belle ve  the  time  has  come 
when  there  is  a  wide-spread  demand  for  all  possible  light  on  educa- 
tional  subjects ;  because  the  extracts  seem  indispensable  to  a  complete 
idea  of  the  character  of  the  man ;  and  because  they  contain  those 
germs  of  thought  from  which  the  educational  reform  had  its  origin. 

We  need  hardly  say  that  a  writer  constituted  like  Pestalozzi,  with 
an  ardent  Imagination,  and  without  that  early  mental  culture  w^hich 
secures  due  Subordination  in  all  departments  of  thought,  would  ex- 
hibit  a  style  that  transcends  the  limits  of  logic  and  appears  visionary 
and  stränge.  To  persons,  however,  who  are  actuated  by  intense  and 
ever-active  feelings  of  compassion  for  the  poor  and  unfortunate,  there 
is  often  given  a  power  of  divination,  which  looks  forward  to  the  real- 
ization  of  cherished  hopes  and  plans,  and  sees  the  world  kindled  into 
flame  from  the  sparks  of  wisdom  and  morality,  which  they  have  fanned 
into  existence.  Such  men  are  usually  impelled  by  a  deep  religious 
sentiment  which  pervades  their  every  feeling  and  action. 

We  would  naturally  expect  that  a  productive  mind,  moved  by  Phil- 
anthropie purposes,  would  discuss  all  the  relations  existing  between 
the  individual,  the  state,  the  church,  and  the  school.     In  his  earliest 

(103) 


104  PESTALOZZI. 

writings,  we  find  Pestalozzi  an  ardent  patriot,  sharply  criticising  the 
existing  abuses  and  inequalities  of  society,  Avhich  imposed  its  biirdens 
upon  the  many  poor  and  conferred  its  privileges  upon  the  wealthy 
few. 

As  early  as  1782  we  find,  in  his  contrihutions  to  a  Swiss  Journal, 
the  following  topics  discussed  :  "  The  Temptations  which  Surround 
Females  of  the  Lower  Classes;"  "  Corruption  of  Servants  in  Great 
Houses;"  "The  Want  of  Even-handed  Justice  between  the  Rieh  and 
the  Poor;"  "Men  With  and  Without  Influence ; "  ''The  Hypocrisy 
of  the  Privileged  Classes  and  their  IndiflTerence  to  the  Real  Sufiering 
of  the  People;"  ''Populär  Education;"  "The  Prevalence  of  Honest 
Principles  in  the  Legislation  of  Former  Times,  Compared  with  the 
Laxity  and  Compromising  Spirit  of  Modern  Legislation;"  "Destruc- 
tive  Agency  of  Quackery  and  Superstition ; "  "  The  Tendency  of  Re- 
nal Laws  to  Increase  rather  than  Diminish  the  Sources  of  Crime ; " 
"The  Organization  of  Prisöns;"  "The  Moral  Improvement  of  Crim- 
inals  and  the  Defects  of  Charity." 

In  all  these  articles  Pestalozzi  espouses  the  cause  of  the  poor  and 
oppressed.  The  improvements  which  have  taken  place  in  many  of 
the  departments  then  under  discussion,  show  that  a  reform  was  ur- 
gently  needed.  Our  first  extract  is  from  an  address  delivered  in 
1788,  on  a  national  anniversary,  and  will  give  an  idea  of  his  power 
and  enthusiasm  at  that  early  period  : 

"  '  Thou  art  free  ! '  Thus  spoke  to  Helvetia  her  guardian  angel  on 
the  triumphant  day  of  her  liberty.  '  But  suffer  thy  people  to  enjoy 
this  freedom  in  all  the  purity  in  which  I  now  give  it  to  thee,  or  it 
will  be  taken  from  thee,'  added  he,  with  a  frown  on  his  brow  and  a 
flash  in  his  eye. 

"Helvetia's  sons  understood  the  warning  of  the  oracle,  and  for  cen- 
turies  lived  like  brethren  in  their  mountains  and  Valleys. 

"  Guardian  angel  of  Helvetia,  show  me  once  more  the  sires  of  our 
land !  Cause  to  appear  before  my  eyes  the  Image  of  the  founders  of 
our  Union  and  liberty !  .  .  .  I  see  them  —  men  of  high  stature, 
with  majestic  beards,  flowing  down  to  their  girdles,  and  with  mighty 
swords  hanging  at  their  sides ;  but  their  countenances  are  friendly  and 
cheerful.  Their  arms,  though  scaled  with  iron,  are  ready  for  the  em- 
brace  of  pious  affection ;  their  hands,  terrible  in  battle,  are  faithful  in 
promise;  they  live  for  those  whom   they  love,  and  die  for  those  to 

whom  they  have  sworn But  now,  oh,  hide  thy  counte- 

nance  and  mourn,  thou  priest  of  liberty!  Thy  altars  are  without 
a  gift ;  the  people  of  Helvetia  are  burning  incense  to  stränge  gods. 
They  have  become  like  the  starving  people  in  the  lands  of  the  kings 


SOCIAL   AND   POLITICAL   SUBJECTS.  105 

aroimd  them.  The  sons  of  those  men,  who  knew  nothing  but  their 
fatherland,  now  know  nothing  but  themselves  —  know  nothing  but 
their  families,  while  they  forget  the  honor  and  interest  of  that  coun- 
tiy  to  which  they  owe  their  existence  and  their  glory. 

"  Ye  men  of  Helvetia!  flee  discord;  for  by  discord  you  sink  to  the 
level  of  the  countries  which  divide  their  bread  with  their  kings.  In- 
dustry  and  zeal  for  the  welfare  of  your  country  established  your 
homes.  Depart  not  from  the  fashion  of  your  forefathers  and  from 
the  duties  of  your  stations !  Guardian  angel  of  the  land !  raise  thy 
voice,  and  send  it  from  mountain  to  mountain  and  from  Valley  to 
Valley !  AVith  a  sound  of  thunder  declare  the  great  truth,  that  the 
liberty  of  all  is  in  the  protection  of  the  right  of  all.  Angel  of  lib- 
erty !  defend  us !  Oh,  defend  forever  this  small  spot  of  earth  in  the 
hands  of  this  people !  Preserve  the  rulers  of  Helvetia,  that  they 
may  never  cease  to  be  the  fathers  of  the  people,  and  that  the  uni- 
versal tie  of  the  fatherland  may  bind  us  more  and  more  firmly  to- 
gether !  Oh,  raise  us  up  again,  and  kindle  the  last  spark  of  patriot- 
ism  that  is  left  in  our  veins  into  a  mighty  flame!  When  danger 
lurks  behind  our  mountain  passes,  and  wild  torrents  threaten  to  inun- 
date  our  peaceful  fields,  then  fan  our  ancient  fire  into  a  sacred  flame, 
that  we,  Helvetia's  faithful  sons,  may  battle  and  die  for  the  father- 
land!" 

Pestalozzi  published,  in  1795,  under  the  title  "  Figures  to  my  Spell- 
ing  Book,"  a  collection  of  fables,  all  bearing  more  or  less  upon  the 
political  and  social  conditions  of  his  age.  Although  a  vein  of  satire 
seems  to  pervade  them,  we  find  occasionally  a  hidden  grief  under  the 
mask  of  hilarity,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  introductory  fable. 

THE   PAINTER   OF    MEN. 

''He  stood  at  the  easel,  and  the  people  thronged  around  him  and 
Said:  'So  thou  hast  turned  painter!  Truly  thou  hadst  done  better 
to  mend  our  shoes ! ' 

"And  he  answered:  'I  would  have  mended  shoes  for  you;  I  would 
have  carried  stones  for  you ;  I  would  have  draw  n  water  for  you ;  but 
you  would  not  have  any  of  my  Services;  and,  therefore,  in  the  com- 
pulsory  idleness  of  my  despised  existence,  what  eise  could  I  do  but 
learn  painting.'" 

THE   MUSHROOM    AND    THE   GRASS. 
"  The  Mushroom   said   to   the  grass :    '  I  spring  up  in  a  moment, 


106  PESTALOZZI. 

whilst  thou  miist  grow  for  a  whole  summer,  in  order  to  attain  to  what 
I  am/ 

"  *  Very  triie/  replied  the  grass,  *  but,  before  I  am  worth  any  thing, 
thou  —  worthless  thing  —  must  spring  up  and  perish  a  hundred 
times.' " 

THE   APE   AND    THE    SERPENT. 

"A  young  ape  meditated  a  long  time,  and  could  not  find  out  what 
humility  is.  At  last,  seeing  a  serpent  crawling  on  his  belly,  he  said 
to  his  mother :  '  To  sneak  thus  through  the  World  without  hands  or 
feet  is,  I  suppose,  Avhat  they  call  humility.'" 


CHRISTOPHER    AND    HIS   WATCH. 

'"If  I  set  thee  going,  thou  wilt  wear  out;  and  if  I  wind  thee  up, 
thy  chain  may  break,'  said  Christopher,  to  whom  a  watch  had  been 
bequeathed.  After  mature  reflection,  he  said:  'Thou  hadst  better 
stand  still,  and  then  these  dangers  will  be  averted.'" 

WHERE   SHALL   IT   END. 

*'His  great-grandfather  trusted  in  his  armor  and  sword;  his  grand- 
father,  in  his  fist ;  his  father,  in  his  tongue ;  he  trusts  in  his  quill ;  in 
what  will  his  son  trust?" 

:  EQUALITY.  •     . 

"A  dwarf  said  to  a  giant,    '  We  have  equal  rights.'     '  Very  true, 

my  good  fellow,'  replied  the  giant,   '  and  yet  thou  canst  not  walk  in 

my  shoes.' "  '       ^ 

•  •* 

THE    PRIVILEGES    OF   THE   FISHES. 

"  The  fishes  of  a  pond  complained  that  they,  more  than  their  neigh- 
bors  in  other  ponds,  were  persecuted  by  the  pikes ;  whereupon  an  old 
pike,  who  was  the  judge  of  the  pond,  pronounced  this  sentence:  'The 
defendants,  to  make  amends,  shall  in  future  permit  every  year  two 
common  fishes  to  become  pikes.'" 

THE    TWO    MAGISTRATES. 

"  '  I  am  again  weary  to  death,  and  yet  they  are  not  satisfied,'  said  a 
groveliiig  magistrate,  at  the  close  of  his  session. 


SOCIAL    AND    POLITICAL   SUBJECTS.  107 

*' Another,  who  understood  the  art  of  governing  exceedingly  well, 
replied :  'I,  on  the  contrary,  am  never  fatigued,  and  yet  they  are 
alvvays  contented  with  me.'  *  I  would  buy  thy  secret  with  gold,  if  it 
were  for  sale,'  said  the  first.  The  öther  replied :  '  It  would  be  to 
thee  of  no  use.  When  Kitty  cooks  her  turnips,  and  Johnny  manures 
his  land,  and  Harry  waters  his  donkey,  I  pass  on,  whistling,  and 
think  to  myself,  '  What  is  that  to  me  ? ' 

"'Well,  and  I  think  the  village  would  go  to  ruin  if  I  had  not 
knowledge  of  every  thing,'  said  the  weary  one." 

Our  next  extracts  are  from  a  political  work,  entitied  *'Inquiries 
into  the  Course  of  Nature  in  the  Development  of  the  Human  Spe- 
cies."  This  was,  doubtless,  written  under  the  influence  of  Kousseau's 
works,  in  which  he  was  greatly  interested  at  that  time.  That  he 
was  in  a  morbid  and  despairing  frame  of  mind,  induced,  probably, 
by  witnessing  the  injustice  and  inhumanity  of  the  existing  govern- 
ments,  will  be  seen  by  one  of  the  conclusions  at  which  he  arrives: 
*'The  social  compact  is  nothing  more  than  a  truce,  entered  into  by 
the  animal  propensities  of  all  parties,  which  would  otherwise  be  at 
constant  war  with  each  other."  The  questions  which  he  proposes  to 
consider  are  the  following:  *'What  am  I?  What  is  the  human 
species?  What  have  I  done?  What  is  the  human  species  doing? 
What  has  the  course  of  life,  such  as  it  has  been,  made  of  the  hu- 
man species?  On  what  ground  does  the  volition  of  the  human  spe- 
cies and  its  opinions  rest,  and  on  what  must  they  rest  under  the  cir- 
cumstances  in  which  it  is  placed?" 

As  a  preliminary  to  their  Solution  he  gives  the  following  outline  of 
the  march  of  civilization : 

*'  By  the  helplessness  of  his  animal  condition,  man  is  brought  to 
knowledge. 

"Knowledge  leads  to  acquisition;  acquisition  to  possession;  posses- 
sion  to  the  formation  of  society;  society  to  power  and  honor;  power 
and  honor  to  the  relation  of  ruler  and  subject ;  the  relation  of  ruler 
and  subject  to  the  distinction  of  nobles  and  commons,  and  to  the 
crown. 

"  All  these  relations  call  for  a  code  of  laws ;  law  calls  for  civil  lib- 
erty. 

"The  want  of  law  entails  tyranny;  that  is,  a  State  of  things  in 
which  men  constitute  a  society  without  regulations  for  the  improve- 
ment  and  maintenance  of  mutual  obligations." 

"  Following  the  course  of  nature  in  another  direction,  I  find  in  my- 


108  PESTALOZZI. 

seif  a  certain  benevolence,  by  which  acquisition,  honor,  property,  and 
power  ennoble  my  mind ;  while  without  it  all  these  privileges  of  my 
social  condition  only  tend  to  degrade  me  more  deeply.  Tracing  this 
benevolence  to  its  source,  I  find  it  to  be  essentially  of  sensual,  animal 
origin ;  but  I  find,  likewise,  within  myself  a  power,  which  will  enno- 
ble its  very  root ;  and  benevolence  so  ennobled  I  call  love. 

"But  there  is  danger  still  of  love  being  lost  in  my  desire  for  self- 
gratification.  I  feel  desolate,  and  I  seek  to  rise  beyond  the  power  of 
imagination — beyond  the  limits  of  all  the  research  and  knowledge  that 
are  possible  here  below — to  the  fountain-head  of  my  existence,  in  order 
to  derive  from  thence  help  against  the  desolation  of  my  being — against 
all  the  ills  and  weaknesses  of  my  nature."         ..... 

"Let  the  social  Constitution  resemble  ever  so  well  a  white washed 

wall,  and  let  the  dispositions  of  power  wear  ever  so  admirably  the 

mark  of  humanity,  man  never  will  truly  and  freely  submit  to  an  ar- 

rangement  which  gives  any  one  the  right  to  punish  the  aberrations 

of  his  animal  tendencies.     The  relation  of  man  to  man  in  the  social 

State  is  merely  animal.     As  a  mass  —  as  a  people  —  man  does  not 

submit  himself  to  the  powers  of  the  state.     There  is  nothing  he  con- 

templates  less  than  the  Service  of  God  and  the  love  due  to  his  neigh- 

\   bor.     He  enters  society  with  a  view  to  gratify  himself  and  to  enjoy 

i  all  those  things  which,  to  a  sensual  and  animal  being,  are  the  indis- 

':  pensable  conditions  of  satisfaction  and  happiness. 

"The  social  law  is,  therefore,  in  nowise  a  moral  law,  but  a  mere 
modification  of  the  animal  law. 

"Meanwhile,  social  power  is  deeply  interested  in  my  moral  con- 
dition, that  my  animal  tendencies  may  never  conflict  with  its  own 
gratifications. 

"This  is  why,  all  over  the  earth,  it  endeavors  to  represent  the  so- 
cial relation  as  a  moral  tie,  at  least  on  one  side.  But  the  disposition 
of  power  to  represent  itself  as  morally  related  to  the  people,  does  not 
alter  the  position  in  which  it  really  Stands  to  them.  If  the  persons 
in  power,  stimulated  by  their  immoral  tendencies,  encourage  the  de- 
lusion  for  their  own  ends,  with  a  view  to  cover  their  civil  law^essness 
and  their  social  injustice,  they  do  only  what  the  Avolf  and  fox  would 
do,  if  they  could,  to  inspire  the  sheep  and  the  hen  with  unbounded 
confidence.  Nevertheless,  the  hen  does  well  to  sleep  on  trees  by 
night,  and  the  sheep  to  keep  by  the  shepherd,  in  spite  of  what  the 
wolf  may  say," 

When  he  penned  the  foUowing  passage,  he  seems  to  have  had  be- 


SOCIAL.   AND   POLITICAL   SUBJECTS.  109 

fore  liis  eyes  all  the  Horrors  of  the  French  Kevolution ;  the  sufferings 
of  a  degraded  people ;  the  dissipation  and  selfishness  of  kings  and  no- 
bles ;  the  sudden  rise  of  the  masses,  and  their  acts  of  maddened  fury 
and  despair : 

"  Incalculable  is  the  niisery  of  our  continent.  An  etemal  and  un- 
changeable  law  turns  the  balance  of  moral  existence  forever  on  the 
side  of  the  animal  forces  and  tendencies;  and  he  who  combines  with 
them  the  advantages  of  power,  will  ever  say  to  the  weaker  part  of 
his  species,  *  Ye  are  made  for  my  sake ; '  and  he  plays  on  their 
crowded  ranks  as  on  the  wires  of  a  dulcimer.  As  many  wires  as 
break,  he  throws  away,  and  draws  new  ones  across  his  damaged  In- 
strument; for  what  is  it  to  him  whether  the  wires  break  or  not,  they 
are  only  wires. 

''Alas!  they  are  men;  but  they  grow  up  in  the  inexpressible  deg- 
radation  of  a  lawless  servitude.  Like  the  claws  on  the  paws  of  a 
bear,  they  know  not  what  is  the  design  of  the  growling  animal  that 
rests  on  them ;  but  they  are  always  ready  to  tear  out  the  entrails  of 
any  one  against  wliom  he  may  growl.         ...... 

When   once  power  has   become   un- 

faithful,  and  has  learned  to  paliate  the  sin  of  treason  by  cold  unmean- 
ing  language,  then  the  law  of  humanity  has  departed  from  the  earth. 

Enthralled  by  a  power  which  acknowledges  no  law  against  itself,  man 
sinks  back  into  all  the  helplessness  and  obtuseness  of  his  natural  cor- 
ruption;  and  the  general  spread  of  Sansculottism  leads  to  the  dissolu- 
tion  of  the  social  ties. 

*'Before  this  comes  to  pass,  kings,  like  the  oak,  grow  hardened  on 
their  thrones ;  deep  horror  hovers  round  their  crowns  ;  they  stand 
isolated,  like  barren  rocks,  surrounded  by  bottomless  abysses ;  celiba- 
tarian  monks  and  misanthropic  knight-bachelors  become  the  last  pil- 
lars  of  the  State,  tili  they,  too,  begin  to  give  way,  and  then,  in  the 
desolation  of  anarchy,  which  wanton  lawlessness  has  brought  on, 
nations  sink  into  dissolution." 

This  was,  undoubtedly,  a  gloomy  view  of  the  existing  state  of 
things ;  but  it  was  the  gloom  in  his  own  soul  which  made  him  see, 
at  that  time,  every  thing  in  a  dim  and  distorted  light.  Let  us  not 
forget  that  when  he  wrote  the  above — in  1797  —  he  mourned  over 
the  destruction  of  his  most  cherished  plans ;  mourned  over  the 
breaking  up  of  his  school  for  the  poor,  for  which  he  had  sacri- 
ficed  his  money,  his  time,  and  his  health;  mourned  over  seventeen 
years  spent  in  un profitable  labor,  amidst  contempt,  poverty,  and  pri- 
vation.     Shall  we   wonder   that  he  closes  with  a  kind  of  funereal 


110  PESTALOZZI. 

inscription  to  himself,  which  is  füll  of  deep  pathos,  and  almost  sub- 
lime in  its  unselfishness  ? 

"Thousands  pass  away  in  the  corruption  of  sensual  gratification, 
and  they  seek  no  more. 

"Tens  of  thousands  are  overwhelmed  by  the  burdens  of  craft  and 
trade,  by  the  weight  of  the  hammer,  the  yard-stick,  or  the  crown, 
and  they  seek  no  more. 

"  But  I  know  a  man  who  did  seek  more.  The  joy  of  simplicity 
dwelt  in  his  heart,  and  he  had  faith  in  mankind,  such  as  few  men 
have;  his  soul  was  made  for  friendship;  love  was  his  element,  and 
fidelity  his  strongest  tie.  But  he  was  not  made  for  the  world,  and 
wherever  he  was  placed  he  was  found  wanting.  The  world  asked  not 
whether  it  was  his  fault  or  the  fault  of  others;  but  it  bruised  him 
with  an  iron  hammer,  as  the  bricklayers  break  an  old  brick  to  fill  up 
crevices. 

*'Though  bruised,  he  still  trusted  in  mankind;  and  he  proposed 
to  himself  a  great  purpose,  to  attain  which,  he  suffered  agonies,  and 
learned  lessons  such  as  few  mortals  have  learned. 

"  He  did  not  flatter  himself  that  he  could  be  generally  useful,  but 
for  his  purpose  he  was  better  fitted  than  most  men  are  for  theirs. 
He  expected  justice  at  the  hands  of  mankind,  but  he  found  none. 
Self-appointed  judges  confirmed  the  sentence,  that  '  he  was  generally 
and  absolutely  useless.'  This  was  the  grain  of  sand  which  decided 
the  doubtful  balance  of  his  wretched  destinies. 

*' He  is  no  more;  thou  wouldest  know  him  no  more;  all  that  re- 
mains  of  him  are  the  decayed  remnants  of  his  destroyed  existence. 

"  He  feil  as  a  fruit  that  falls  before  it  is  ripe,  whose  blossom  has 
been  nipped  by  the  northern  gale,  or  whose  core  has  been  eaten  by 
the  gnawing  worm. 

"Stranger,  who  passeth  by,  refuse  not  a  tear  of  sympathy.  Even 
in  falling  the  fruit  turned  toward  the  tree,  on  the  branches  of  Avhich 
it  had  lingered  through  the  summer,  and  whispered,  '  Verily,  even 
in  my  death  will  I  nourish  thy  roots.' 

"  Stranger,  spare  the  perishing  fruit,  and  allow  the  dust  of  its  de- 
cay  to  nourish  the  roots  of  the  tree  on  which  it  lived,  sickened,  and 
died." 

These  are  the  sentiments  of  absolute  despair.  With  the  expiration 
of  his  hopes  the  writer  seems  to  draw  his  last  breath.  Advanced  be- 
yond  the  meridian  of  his  life,  and  expecting  to  die,  his  only  sorrow 
is  that  his  earthly  mission  remains  unfulfilled. 

Mark  the  contrast!     Eighteen  years  afterward,  when  he  had  risen 


SOCIAL   AND    POLITICAL    SUBJECTS.  111 

to  immortal  fame,  his  feelings  and  sentiments  were  of  quite  a  differ- 
ent  character.  In  his  "Appeal  to  My  Fatherland,"  the  last  of  his 
political  writings,  we  find  this  remarkable  passage  lipon  the  character 
and  mission  of  Napoleon,  whose  sun  of  glory  had  just  sunk  beneath 
the  horizon: 

"The  nature  of  sovereign  power,  as  the  guardian  of  individual 
rights  and  the  protector  of  the  weak  and  suffering,  not  only  gave 
Bonaparte  a  right,  but  imposed  upon  him  a  solemn  Obligation  to  in- 
terfere  decidedly  with  every  violation  of  the  primitive  and  most  sa- 
cred  relationships  of  society;  but  his  right  of  interference  was  en- 
tirely  derived  from  his  position  as  sovereign,  and  from  the  duties 
which  that  position  involved,  and  was  wholly  unconnected  with  his 
personal  standing.  He  had  no  right,  therefore,  to  appropriate  the 
funds  —  the  maladministration  of  which  he  was  bound  to  oppose  —  to 
his  own  personal  use,  or  to  the  purposes  of  his  erapire,  at  the  expense 
of  individual  interests :  he  had  no  right  to  seize  them  for  covering  the 
wants  of  the  military,  finance,  and  police  Systems  created  by  him,  and 
for  satisfying  the  claims  of  his  avaricious  agents.  He  ought  to  have 
exerted  his  sovereign  power,  which  was  derived  from  God,  for  arrest- 
ing  the  abuse  which  those  whom  the  state  protects  in  their  possessions, 
might  make  of  their  property,  to  the  injury  of  any  of  their  fellow- 
citizens,  or  to  the  prejudice  of  the  public  weal. 

"  But,  considering  Bonaparte's  character,  his  career,  and  the  spirit 
of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  was  not 
easy  for  him  to  take  so  just  a  view  of  the  matter.  A  rieh  man  can 
hardly  enter  the  kingdom  of  God ;  and  so,  likewise,  a  man  with  a 
character  and  energy  like  that  of  Bonaparte,  who  rose  up  in  the 
midst  of  an  enervated  generation,  and  was  carried  along  in  his  career 
by  all  the  charms  and  Impulses  of  universal  corruption  in  its  füll  ma- 
turity,  could  hardly  regard  his  sovereignty  as  a  sacred  office,  by  which 
he  was  bound  to  exert  his  power  in  the  Service  of  views  and  objects 
entirely  foreign  to  him.  He  could  hardly  be  expected  to  make,  be- 
tween  church  property  and  other  charitable  corporate  institutions 
on  one  band,  and  the  public  revenue  on  the  other,  that  distinction 
which  can  only  arise  out  of  a  higher  view  of  the  social  relations. 

"The  peculiar  difficulty  of  his  position  is  not  sufiiciently  taken  into 
account ;  and  when  I  see  certain  people  whose  weak  powers  are  per- 
severingly  engaged  in  hunting  up  means  for  the  accomplishment  of 
their  own  bad  purposes,  so  very  forcibly  Struck  by  the  greater  wick- 
edness  of  the  energetic  chase  instituted  by  the  late  lion,  I  am  some- 
times  tempted  to  whisper  to  them :  '  He  that  is  without  sin  among 
you,  let  him  first  cast  a  stone  at  him.' 


112  PESTALOZZI. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  very  true  that  he  seemed  uot  made  to 
realize  the  ideal  of  a  king  in  the  true,  divine  sense  of  the  word.  He 
was  not  made  to  form  the  center  for  every  thing  great,  good,  and 
holy  that  might  be  found  in  the  state,  and  among  mankind  at  large. 
If  he  had  exercised  against  himself  that  heroic  strength  which  he  ex- 
hibited  in  his  struggle  against  the  world ;  if  he  had  conquered  him- 
self for  the  sake  of  his  brethren,  for  the  sake  of  sufTering  humanity, 
he  might  have  been  the  deliverer  of  our  deeply-degraded  age,  the  fos- 
tering  angel  of  Europe,  the  crown  of  its  sages,  the  sovereign  of  its 
hearts. 

*'  But  he  was  nothing  of  all  this.  He  conquered  the  world,  but 
was  overpowered  by  his  own  weakness  and  a  selfishness  ill-suited 
to  the  elevation  to  which  he  was  raised.  .  .  .  The  events  of  his 
early  career  marred  in  him  those  germs  of  pure  and  holy  feelings 
which  exist  in  the  bosom  of  every  great  man.  All  that  was  truly 
generous  in  him  was  destroyed;  yet  the  consciousness  of  the  powers 
which  he  possessed  gave  him  a  feeling  of  superiority,  in  which  con- 
tempt  for  those  who  could  get  no  ascendency  over  him  was-combined 
with  impatience  of  all  control.  In  the  moment  of  decision  he  feit 
that  he  was  able  to  sway  the  world;  and  he  became  an  autocrat,  the 
scourge  of  the  nations,  destined  to  rouse  mankind  from  the  slumber 
of  weakness  and  sloth,  to  show  forth  the  spirit  and  the  character  of 
that  war  which  our  camal  nature  ever  wages  against  morality  and 
sanctified  humanity,  and  to  exhibit  all  the  abomination  and  all  the 
horrors  of  that  conflict. 

*'  In  that  war  he  was  successful.  Had  I  not  faith  in  God,  I  should 
say  he  was  successful  in  the  work  of  hell  as  no  mortal  and  no  sinner 
was  before  him.  I  am  unable  to  give  a  picture  of  what  he  made  of 
himself.  The  idea  which  Stands  forever  as  a  landmark  between  hu- 
manity and  inhumanity,  the  watchword  of  all  tyrants  hardened  in 
the  wicked  principle  of  treating  mankind  as  collective  masses,  the 
question  which  Cain  dared  to  ask  God  Almighty,  'Am  I  my  brother's 
keeper  ? '  was  established  by  Bonaparte  as  a  maxim  of  government, 
with  infinitely  more  energy  and  success  than  by  any  ruler  before 
him ;  and  it  was  long,  very  long,  before  that  blaspheray  caused  him 
to  become  a  fugitive  and  vagabond  in  the  earth.  His  warfare  against 
human  kind  prospered  from  the  north  to  the  south,  from  the  Khine 
to  the  Volga.  Carefully  evading  every  discussion  of  their  just  claims, 
with  tiger's  strength  he  vindicated  as  a  right  what  his  predecessors 
had,  like  cunning  foxes,  gained  by  subterfuge. 

"His  career  was  great.  God,  who  directs  the  affairs  of  men,  made 
use  of  him  for  the  purpose  of  warning  this  generation,  more  emphat- 


SOCIAL   AND    POLITICAL    SUBJECTS.  113 

ically  than  ever  before,  against  that  stumbling-block  which  has  ob- 
structed,  and  ever  will  obstruct,  the  welfare  of  society  —  the  prefer- 
ence  given  to  the  mass  in  its  collective  capacity  over  the  rights  of 
individual  members.  .  .  .  The  rapidity  with  which  he  enslaved 
the  minds  of  men,  from.  the  lowest  rabble  up  to  the  heads  of  church 
and  State,  and  the  long  continuance  of  the  bondage  in  which  he  kept 
them,  is  ever  to  be  considered  as  a  masterpiece  of  human  art  in  the 
deepest  corruption  of  which  man  is  capable. 

"This  was  not  the  work  of  his  sword.  Before  that  the  world  fled; 
but  the  blood  which  he  shed  wdth  it,  the  waste  which  he  created,  the 
widows  and  orphans  Avhom  he  made  desolate,  won  him  no  hearts. 
The  Submission  of  men's  minds  to  his  rule  was  not  the  work  of  his 
sword,  but  of  his  genius,  which  laid  hold  of  the  weaknesses  of  the 
age  with  irresistible  power.  He  spoke  to  the  honor  of  the  age: 
'  Contaminate  thyself  for  me,  and  crown  thou  for  me  the  beggar  and 
the  scoundrel ; '  and  honor  ceased  to  be  honor ;  it  contaminated  itself, 
and  crowned  for  him  beggars  and  scoundrels.  He  spoke  to  the  cour- 
age  of  the  age :  '  Be  regardless  of  justice,  and  bold,  like  myself,  in 
injustice ; '  and  courage  regarded  not  justice,  and  was  bold  in  injus- 
tice.  He  spoke  to  the  lust  of  the  age :  'Assist  thou  me,  and  for  my 
sake  outdo  thyself; '  and  lust  came  to  his  assistance,  and  surpassed 
itself  in  his  Service.  He  spoke  to  the  light  of  the  age :  *  Vanish 
thou  from  the  sight  of  the  nations,  and  shine  only  to  me,  and 
through  me,  and  for  me ; '  and  light  was  changed  into  darkness  for 
the  nations;  and  he  alone  saw,  and  no  one  saw  but  through  him  and 
for  him.  He  spoke  to  the  faith  of  the  age :  '  Be  thou  unfaithful  for 
my  sake ; '  and  faith  became  unfaithful  for  his  sake.  He  spoke  to 
the  industry  of  the  age :  *  In  chains  shalt  thou  w^ork  for  me ; '  and 
industry  Avorked  for  him  in  chains.  He  spoke  to  the  men  of  his 
age :  '  If  you  do  this,  I  will  reward  you ; '  and  they  and  their  rulers 
shrank  from  no  deed,  however  abominable,  however  base,  however 
revolting,  for  they  lusted  after  his  reward.  He  said  again :  '  If  you 
do  it  not,  I  will  take  vengeance  on  you ; '  and  the  men  of  his  age 
regarded  nothing,  however  holy  —  regarded  not  the  feelings  of  their 
own  bosoms,  nor  the  throbbings  of  their  own  hearts,  for  the  fear  of 
his  vengeance.  He  w^as  the  soul,  he  was  the  breath,  he  was  the 
spirit  and  the  life  of  every  Impulse  of  violence  in  his  day.  He  was 
the  center  of  every  lawless  feeling,  of  every  unjust  deed,  from  the 
throne  down  to  the  ale-house.  He  was  the  soul  of  all  thinkers,  and 
of  all  politicians,  whose  philosophy  and  whose  politics  went  not  be- 
yond  the  five  senses.  He  was  also  a  terror  and  a  cause  of  wailing 
to  all  who,  with  similar  desires  in  their  hearts,  had  not  the  same 
P.  8. 


114  PESTALOZZI. 

marrow  iu   their   bones,  nor   the   same   blood   in   their  veins,  whose 
senses  were  not  supported  by  an  equal  strength  of  nerve. 

"  This  was  bis  character,  this  bis  power,  this  the  secret  of  bis  as- 
cendency,  tbis  bis  prop,  wben  be  rose  to  tbe  tbrone,  wben  be  taugbt 
mankind  lessons  sucb  as  bad  not  been  taugbt  for  centuries, — tbe  rev- 
erence  wbicb  sovereign  power  ougbt  to  bave  for  tbe  primitive  claims 
of  individual  existence;  tbe  necessity  of  a  power  raised  above  tbe 
corruption  of  tbe  mass  and  tbe  degradation  of  its  tools;  tbe  want  of 
a  boly  king,  wbom  botb  bis  cbaracter  and  tbe  Law  of  bis  kingdom 
Avould  constitute  tbe  free  fatber  of  all  bis  cbildren,  and  tbe  guardian 
of  tbe  rigbts  of  every  individual  among  tbem;  tbe  contrast  be- 
tween  a  divine  and  a  carnal  spirit  in  power,  in  subjection,  and  in 
freedom. 

**  It  was  bis  will  tbat  Europe  sbould  ereet  bim  a  temple,  under 
wbose  bigb  arcbes  no  sunbeam  sbould  penetrate,  but  on  wbose  altar 
a  flame  was  to  burn  brigbt  above  all  flames  tbat  ever  w^ere  kindled 
by  tbe  band  of  man;  and  in  tbe  brigbtness  of  tbat  flame  sbould  be 
read  tbe  w^ords : 

*Tbis  is  tbe  ligbt  wbicb  Bonaparte  grants  to  Europe.'" 

In  tbis  same  appeal,  be  gives  excellent  advice  to  bis  countrymen, 
wbo,  after  tbe  downfall  of  tbe  great  arbiter  of  tbe  destinies  of  Eu- 
rope, were  discussing  tbe  best  forms  of  government  for  tbeir  own 
country:  "  Be  not  deceived,  O  my  country.  Tby  bberty,  tby  bap- 
piness,  will  not  drop  down  from  tbe  clouds.  Nations,  generally, 
attain  no  greater  prosperity  tban  tbat  wbicb  tbey  deserve ;  nor  is  tbis, 
tby  sacred  bour,  given  tbee  for  tbe  display  of  perfection.  God  grant 
tbat  tbou  mayest  employ  it  in  preparing  for  a  better  State.  Tbere 
are  no  abrupt  transitions  in  nature  from  tbe  deepest  corruption  to 
tbe  bigbest  pitcb  of  perfection ;  but  tbey  are  all  gradual.  Severe  ill- 
ness  is  not  foUowed  by  bealtb,  but  by  convalescence,  a  careful  atten- 
tion to  wbicb  can  alone  lead  to  tbe  return  of  perfect  bealtb.  My 
country!  tbe  present  period  is  for  tbee  only  a  time  of  convalescence, 
and  tbe  blessing  wbicb  it  may  bring  tbee  will  entirely  depend  on  tby 
turning  it  to  account  scrupulously  and  witb  boly  solicitude.         • 

''Friends  of  bumanity!  fatbers  of  generations  to  come!  let  us  not 
deceive  ourselves.  Tbe  real  internal  blessings  of  bumanity  are  not 
tbe  fruits  of  tbe  external  forms  of  tbe  civil  Constitution,  but  of  tbe 
moral  and  spiritual  condition  of  tbe  individuals. 

"My  country!  a  cbarmer  is  presenting  a  garden  of  fruitful  trees  to 
tby  eyes.  Tbou  art  amazed:  bungry  and  languisbing,  tbou  stretcb- 
est  out  tby  band  for  one  of  its  fruits,  and  bebold,  in  an  instant,  tbe 


SOCIAL    AND    POLITICAL   SUBJECTS.  115 

whole  gardeii  disappears  from  before  thine  eyes.  There  is  a  .terrible 
illusion  in  constitutional  freedom,  especially  when  newly  established. 
A  small  seed  is  deposited  in  the  ground,  which  soon  Springs  up;  but 
its  stem  is  feeble,  and,  arrested  every  winter,  its  growth  is  slow, 
while  many  dangers  beside  have  to  be  averted;  thus,  much  time 
passes  away  before  it  yields  fruit  in  abundance. 

**0  my  country!  old  constitutions,  when  curtailed  in  root  and 
branch,  and  transplanted  to  a  new  soil,  grow  no  more  than  old 
trees  when  thus  treated.  Blessed  art  thou,  if  thou  art  able  to  nurse 
up  new  ones  from  a  seed  of  truth  and  life,  and  to  bestow  upon 
them  that  maternal  solicitude  which  they  require.  Blessed  art  thou, 
if  thou  art  not  blinded  to  the  most  urgent  and  the  most  sacred  claims 
of  this  present  period." 

This  patriotic  appeal  shows  an  important  stage  in  the  development 
of  Pestalozzi's  ideas  of  the  acquisition  of  true  liberty  and  independ- 
ence.  He  no  longer  accuses  the  rulers  and  lawgivers  of  being  the 
sole  authors  of  all  the  social  evils ;  but  traces  those  evils  to  their  real 
source,  which  is  chiefly  found  in  the  ignorance  and  depravity  of  the 
individuals  that  compose  the  nation.  Who  will  deny  this  truth? 
There  would  be  no  despots,  if  there  were  no  cringing  slaves ;  no  po- 
litical  deceivers,  if  all  the  rest  were  honest;  no  hypocrites,  if  simple 
piety  always  found  its  reward ;  no  quacks  and  humbugs,  if  the  num- 
ber  of  dupes  were  not  so  great. 

What  could  Pestalozzi  do  after  coming  to  the  conviction  that  it  is 
folly  to  expect  the  salvation  of  a  State  by  outward  forms  and  organi- 
zations  —  what,  but  implore  the  nation  to  give  its  füll  attention  to 
the  improvement  of  the  individual,  in  order  to  raise  on  this  founda- 
tion  the  firm  structure  of  political  regen eration  ?  We  find  that  he, 
through  all  his  temporary  doubts  and  aberrations,  became  more  and 
more  convinced  that  the  true  remedy  for  existing  political  evils  is 
the  education  of  the  masses. 

In  the  year  1780,  directly  after  giving  up  his  school  for  the  poor 
at  Neuhof,  he  prepared  an  article,   entitled   ''Evening  Hours  of  a  ->, 
Hermit,"  for  a  Journal   published  at  Basel.     "It  is,"  says  Kaum  er, 
"  made  up  of  a  series  of  aphorisms,  which,  nevertheless,  are  cast  in 
one  mold,  and  stand  in  the  dosest  connection.     Fruits  of  the  pastr 
years  of  his  life,  they  are   at  the  same   time  seeds  of  the  coming  [' 
ones  —  Programme  and  key  to  his  future  educational  labors." 

The  most  prominent  of  these  aphorisms  are  the  following: 

"  Why  does  man  investigate  truth  without  order  or  purpose  ?    Why 


116  PESTALOZZI. 

does  he  not  seek  wliat  his  nature  needs,  that  therewith  he  may  obtain 
pleasure  and  blessings?  Why  does  he  not  secure  truth,  which  will 
afford  him  inward  peace,  develop  his  faculties,  make  his  days  cheerful 
and  his  years  blessed? 

''  Source  of  the  deepest  peace  of  our  existence,  pure  power  of  our 
nature,  blessing  of  our  being,  thou  art  no  dream !  To  seek  thee,  to 
investigate  thee,  is  the  end  and  destiny  of  man !  Thou  art  both  a 
necessity  to  me  and  an  Impulse  from  the  deepest  part  of  my  soul ! 

"Nature  develops  all  the  human  faeulties  hy  practice,  and  their  growth 
depends  lipon  their  exerdse.  Men,  fathers,  force  not  the  faculties  of 
your  children  into  paths  too  distant  before  they  have  attained 
strength  by  exercise ;  avoid  harshness  and  overfatigue." 

''When  the  right  order  of  things  is  inverted,  the  faculties  of  the 
mind  are  weakened  and  lose  their  steadiness.  You  do  this  when,  be- 
fore making  children  sensitive  to  truth  and  wisdom  by  the  real  knowl- 
edge  of  actual  objects,  you  engage  them  in  the  thousand-fold  confu- 
sions  of  word-learning. 

"The  artificial  mode  of  the  schools,  which  every-where  crowds  in 
this  array  of  words  —  instead  of  the  easier  and  slower  method  of  na- 
ture—  endo  WS  men  with  an  artificial  show  of  acquirement,  which 
vamishes  over  their  lack  of  inner  natural  pow^ers,  but  at  the  same 
time  satisfies  the  people  of  the  present  Century." 

"Man  loses  all  the  balance  of  his  power,  the  efficacy  of  his  wis- 
dom, if  his  mind  is  too  one-sided,  or  too  forcibly  applied  to  any  one 
subject.  Nature's  mode  of  teaching  is  not  a  forcible  one ;  but  steady, 
consistent,  and  strictly  economical.  ...... 

"  The  drcle  of  hrwwledge,  through  which  every  man  in  his  own  place 
becmnes  blessedf  begins  imm^diately  around  him,  from  his  own  being,  and 
from  his  dosest  relations,  It  extends  from  this  beginning,  and  at  every 
increa^e  must  have  referenee  to  truth,  tJiat  central  point  of  all  blessed  powers. 

"  The  man  who  with  rapid  course  flits  over  every  subject,  and  does 
not  fortify  his  acquirements  by  steady  investigation,  loses  the  power 
of  observing  cheerfully  and  steadily  —  loses  the  genuine  pleasure  of 
sensibiKty  to  truth. 

"Man  must  be  trained  to  in  ward  peace,  to  contentment  with  his 
condition,  and  with  the  pleasures  attainable  in  it ;  and  to  patience, 
reverence,  and  faith  in  the  love  of  the  Father 

"Peace  and  quiet  pleasure  are  the  first  objects  of  human  educa- 
tion.  Man,  thy  knowledge  and  aims  must  be  subordinate  to  high 
purposes,  or  thy  curiosity  and  ambition  will  become  gnawing  agonies 
and  curses. 

"Man,  thou  livest  not  for  thyself  alone.     Nature  educates  thee 


SOCIAL   AND    POLITICAL  SUBJECTS.  117 

for  intercourse  with  those  about  thee.  The  domestic  relations  are 
the  first  and  most  important  ties  of  nature. 

"  Mau  labors  in  his  calling  and  endures  the  bürden  of  a  Citizen, 
that  thereby  he  may  enjoy  in  quiet  the  pure  blessings  of  his  domes- 
tic happiness.  Home,  thou  art  the  school  of  morals!  O  man!  thy 
•family  and  the  best  of  thy  pleasures  will  not  last  thee  forever. 

*'In  God,  as  the  Father  of  thy  house,  the  source  of  thy  blessings, 
findest  thou  peace,  power,  and  wisdom,  which  no  pain  nor  the  grave 
can  destroy. 

"  Faith  in  God  is  the  fountain  of  peace;  peace  produces  in  ward 
Order ;  in  ward  order  is  the  source  of  the  unerring  application  of  our 
powers ;  and  this  again  causes  the  growth  of  those  powers  and  of 
their  training  in  wisdom;  wisdom  is  the  spring  of  all  human  bless- 
ings. 

"Faith  in  God  is  the  source  of  all  wisdom  and  all  blessings,  and 
is  nature's  road  to  the  pure  education  of  man. 

"  Faith  in  God,  thou  art  the  portion  of  the  people  in  every  clime ; 
thou  art  the  power  of  men  in  every  exaltation,  and  their  strength  in 
every  adversity;  thou  art  not  a  sequel  and  result  of  educated  wisdom; 
thou  art  a  pure  endowment  of  simplicity  —  the  hearkening  ear  of 
innocence  to  the  voice  of  nature,  whose  father  is  God." 

"  God  the  Father!  God,  an  existence  within  the  dwellings  of  men! 
God  within  my  own  inmost  being!  God,  the  giver  of  his  own 
gifts,  and  of  the  pleasures  of  my  life!  He  is  the  source  of  this 
faith." 

"  When  the  flames  of  misery  burn  over  thy  heart  and  destroy  thee, 
will  the  dictum  of  wise  men  support  thee?  But  when  thy  Father 
strengthens  thee,  makes  thy  days  cheerful,  lifts  thy  being  above  all 
sorrows,  and  develops  within  thee  blessed  enjoyments,  then  does  thy 
faith  in  God  grow  strong." 

''If  God  is  the  Father,  then  the  day  of  death  is  not  the  fulfillment 
of  existence  !  Man,  thy  inward  sense  is  a  sure  guide  to  truth  and 
dlity.  Dost  thou  doubt  when  this  sense  summons  thee  to  immortal- 
ity?" 

''  O  man,  believe  in  thyself;  believe  in  the  in  ward  intelligence  of 
thine  own  soul ;  for  then  shalt  thou  believe  in  God  and  immortality. 
€^od  is  the  Father  of  humanity.     God's  children  are  immortal." 

*'  Sin  is  the  source  and  consequence  of  unbelief :  all  unbelief  is  ar- 
rogant. Sin  is  the  source  of  the  perversion  of  our  first  fundamental 
ideas,  and  of  our  pure  natural  feelings.  Sin  destroy s  faith  in  God 
and  child-like  feelings  toward  him." 

"  Open  sin  —  defiance  of  God  by  man." 


118  PESTALOZZI. 

"  I  base  all  freedom  upon  justice ;  but  I  see  no  certaiii  justice  in 
this  World,  except  that  inspired  by  simplicity,  j^iety,  and  love.  All 
family  administration  of  justice  —  which  is  the  greatest,  purest,  and 
niost  generally  enjoyed  —  has  no  source  except  love." 

*'As  all  justice  rests  upon  love,  so  all  freedom  rests  upon  justice. 
The  source  of  justice  and  of  all  worldly  blessings,  the  source  of  the 
love  and  brotherhood  of  men,  is  the  great  idea  of  religion  —  that  we 
are  all  the  children  of  God." 

"  Forgetfulness  of  God,  neglect  of  the  filial  relation  of  humanity, 
is  the  source  of  the  destruction  of  all  morality  and  wisdom.  There- 
fore,  the  loss  of  a  filial  feeling  toward  God  is  the  greatest  misfortune, 
since  it  renders  all  God's  paternal  instruction  impossible.  The  resto- 
ration  of  this  lost  filial  feeling  is  the  salvation  of  the  lost  children  of 
God  on  earth." 

"The  Man  of  God  who,  through  sorrow  and  death,  reestablished 
this  universally-lost  filial  feeling  toward  God  is  the  Savior  of  the 
World  —  the  Mediator  between  God  and  god-forgetting  humanity. 
His  teachings  are  pure  justice ;  an  instructive  philosophy  for  all  peo- 
ple ;  the  revelation  of  God  the  Father  to  his  lost  children." 

This  essay,  omitted  by  Schmid  in  the  publication  of  Pestalozzi's 
works,  is  the  more  interesting,  as  it  shows  that  he  had  at  that  early 
period  formed  clear  ideas  of  the  natural  processes  of  education ;  and 
that  he  considered  education,  not  raerely  in  its  reference  to  mental 
training,  but  in  its  widest  sense — in  its  relation  to  domestic  life,  to 
moral  and  religious  growth.  But,  judging  that  most  people  would  not 
be  gained  by  mere  aphorisms  of  truth,  he  wisely  determined  to  de- 
tail his  ideas  further  in  the  shape  of  an  educational  novel,  which 
would  place  a  faithful  mirror  before  the  eyes  of  the  people,  expose 
their  foibles,  vices,  and  disorders,  and  at  the  same  time  supply  the 
remedy  in  the  form  of  good  examples. 

This  was  accomplished  in  1781,  by  the  publication  of  "Leonard 
and  Gertrude  " 


"LEONARD  AND  GERTRUDE." 

THE  simple  style  in  which  it  is  writteii,  the  truthful  and  animated 
pictures  of  common  life  which  it  contains,  and  the  absence  from 
its  pages  of  abstruse  reasonings  and  exhibitions  of  party  spirit,  procured 
for  this  work  a  great  popularity.  It  is  also  characterized  by  its  sin- 
cere  and  earnest  pleading  for  all  that  ennobles  man,  restores  peace  to 
the  soul,  puts  an  end  to  the  conflict  between  the  innate  aspirations  for 
truth  and  the  tendency  to  ignoble  passions,  and  establishes  confidence 
between  rulers  and  subjects  by  a  due  appreciation  of  their  respective 
rights  and  duties.  Well  might  Pestalozzi  exclaim,  in  the  preface  to 
the  first  edition :  "I  take  no  part  in  the  disputes  of  men  about 
opinions ;  but  I  consider  that  every  thing  which  tends  to  make  men 
good,  true,  and  faithful,  which  cherishes  love  toward  God  and  our 
neighbors,  and  brings  blessing  and  peace  into  our  dwellings,  should 
be  implanted  in  the  hearts  of  all."  In  the  preface  to  the  second 
edition,  he  says :  "  AVhoever  wishes  to  do  his  duty  to  God  and  to 
posterity,  to  public  right  and  public  order,  and  to  the  security  of  fam- 
ily  happiness,  must,  in  one  way  or  another,  accord  with  the  spirit  of 
my  book,  and  seek  the  same  object.  This  is  my  comfort:  when  these 
truths  germinate,  for  germinate  they  must,  they  will  bear  fruit." 

The  materials  for  "Leonard  and  Gertrude  "  were  gathered  during  I 
long  years  of  suffering  and  disappointment ;  and  the  work  itself  was  \ 
the  result  of  an  intense  love,  which  made  the  cause  of  the  poor  and  \ 
friendless  its  own.     He  had  already  failed  in  a  practical  attempt  to 
relieve  the  unfortunate,  but  he  had  obtained  a  deeper  insight  into 
the  causes  which  perpetuated  the  evils  of  society.     With  a  bleeding 
heart,  he  had  seen  that  poverty,  unless  counterbalanced  by  a  healthy 
culture  of  the  mind  and  soul,  was  generally  accömpanied  by  moral 
and  physical  wretchedness ;  by  intemperance,  ignorance,  and  supersti- 
tion.     He  was  also  able  to  trace  part  of  the  sufferings  of  the  poor  to 
the  selfishness   and  hardness  of  the   rieh,  many  of  whom  derived  a 
shameful  profit  from  the  improvidence  of  their  unfortunate  brethren. 


(119) 


/ 


120  PESTALOZZI. 

He  had  also,  occasionally,  seen  in  tlie  cottages  of  the  poor,  cheerful- 
ness,  peace,  and  comfort;  and  this  spirit  he  had,  with  great  certainty, 
always  traced  to  the  influence  of  a  sound  home  education,  conducted 
by  an  intelligent  mother. 

The  characters  of  this  tale,  far  froni  engaging  in  brilliant  or  daz- 
zling  actions,  are  great  in  their  very  simplicity  and  truth  to  nature. 
The  principal  ones  are:  Gertrude,  a  pattern  of  a  good  and  in- 
teUigent  wife  and  mother  —  an  educator  who  tries  to  fulfiU  the 
duties  of  her  office  to  their  füllest  extent,  without  troubling  her  head 
with  plans  of  emancipation;  Leonard,  her  husband,  who,  however, 
plays  only  a  secondary  part ;  Arner,  the  lord  of  the  manor,  who  tries 
to  effeet  a  thorough  reform  in  the  administration  of  the  parish  en- 
trusted  to  his  care ;  Ernst,  a  worthy  clergyman,  who  assists  Arner, 
and  works  on  the  hearts  and  convictions,  and  not  on  the  fears  and 
prejudices,  of  his  parishioners ;  Glülphy,  the  school-master,  in  whose 
teaching  and  discipline  Pestalozzi  embodies  some  of  the  favorite  ideas 
of  education  which  he  afterward  matured ;  Hummel,  the  bailiff, 
chief  magistrate,  and  judge  of  the  village  —  the  personification  of 
wickedness,  avarice,  and  pride — a  man  with  a  heart  hardened  through 
many  years  of  mismanagement  and  crime ;  and  Rudi,  one  of  the 
victims  of  the  bailiff,  whose  story  forms  some  of  the  most  affecting 
chapters  of  the  book. 

To  exhibit  the  Intention  of  the  author  and  the  spirit  which  ani- 
mated  him  in  his  work,  we  make  the  following  selections : 

A    KIND-HEAKTED    MAN,   WHO,    NEVERTHELESS,  MAKES    HIS    WIFE 
AND    CHILDREN    VERY    UNHAPPY. 

There  lived  in  Bonnal  a  mason.  He  was  called  Leonard,  and  his 
wife,  Gertrude.  He  had  seven  children,  and  some  property;  but  he 
had  this  fault  —  that  he  often  let  himself  be  tempted  to  the  tavern. 
When  he  was  once  seated  there  he  behaved  like  a  madman,  and  was 
often  led  from  drinking  to  gaming,  and  thus  deprived  of  the  produce 
of  his  labor.  AVhenever  this  had  happened  at  night,  Leonard  re- 
pented  in  the  morning;  for,  when  he  saw  his  wife  and  children  want- 
ing  bread,  it  went  so  to  his  heart  that  he  trembled  and  cast  down  his 
eyes  to  conceal  his  tears. 

Gertrude  was  the  best  wife  in  the  village ;  but  she  and  her  bloom- 
ing  children  were  in  danger  of  being  robbed  of  their  father  and 
driven  from  their  home,  and  of  sinking  into  the  greatest  misery, 
because  Leonard  would  not  let  wine  alone. 

Gertrude  saw   the   approaching  danger,  and  feit  it  most  keenly. 


LEONARD   AND    GERTRUDS.  121 

» 

When  she  fetched  grass  from  the  meadow,  when  she  took  hay  from 
the  loft,  when  she  set  away  the  milk  in  her  clean  pans,  whatever  she 
was  doing,  she  was  tormented  by  the  thought  that  her  meadow,  her 
haystack,  and  her  little  hut,  might  soon  be  taken  away  from  her. 
When  her  children  were  standing  around  her,  or  sitting  in  her  lap, 
her  anguish  was  still  greater,  and  the  tears  streamed  down  her 
cheeks. 

Hitherto,  however,  she  had  been  able  to  conceal  this  silent  weeping 
from  her  children ;  but,  on  Wednesday  before  Easter,  when  she  had 
waited  long,  and  her  husband  did  not  come  home,  her  grief  overcame 
her,  and  the  children  saw  her  tears.  "O  mother!"  exclaimed  they, 
"you  are  weeping,"  and  they  pressed  closer  to  her.  Sorrow  and 
anxiety  were  on  every  countenance.  With  deep  sobs,  heavy  downcast 
looks,  and  silent  tears  the  children  surrounded  the  mother,  and  even 
the  baby  in  her  arms  betrayed  a  feeling  of  pain  hitherto  unknown, — all 
this  quite  broke  her  heart.  Her  anguish  burst  out  in  a  loud  cry,  and 
all  the  children  wept  with  her,  and  there  was  a  sound  of  lamentation 
as  Leonard  opened  the  door. 

Gertrude,  who  lay  with  her  face  on  the  bed,  heard  not  the  opening 
of  the  door,  nor  the  entrance  of  the  father ;  neither  did  the  children 
perceive  him,  for  they  saw  only  their  weeping  mother.  Thus  did 
Leonard  find  them. 

God  in  Heaven  sees  the  tears  of  the  wTetched,  and  puts  a  limit  to 
their  grief.  The  mercy  of  God  brought  Leonard  to  witness  this 
scene,  which  pierced  his  soul.  The  paleness  of  death  was  on  his 
countenance,  and  he  could  scarcely  articulate,  ''Lord  Jesus,  what  is 
this!"  Then  the  mother  saw  him  for  the  first  time,  the  children 
looked  up,  and  their  loud  expressions  of  grief  were  hushed. 

"Teil  me,  Gertrude,"  said  he,  "what  is  this  dreadful  trouble  in 
which  I  find  thee?" 

"Oh!  my  dear,"  answered  she,  "heavy  cares  press  upon  my  heart, 
and  when  thou  art  away,  sorrow  preys  more  keenly  upon  me." 

"  Gertrude,"  said  Leonard,  "I  know  why  thou  weepest,  wretch  that 
I  am ! " 

Then  Gertrude  sent  away  the  children,  collected  all  her  strength, 
and  took  courage  to  urge  him  not  to  bring  any  further  trouble  and 
misery  upon  his  children.  She  was  pious,  and  trusted  in  God;  and 
before  she  spoke,  she  prayed  silently  for  her  husband  and  children ; 
her  heart  was  comforted,  and  she  said:  "Leonard,  trust  in  the 
mercy  of  God,  and  take  courage  to  do  nothing  but  what  is  right." 

"O  Gertrude!  Gertrude!"  exclaimed  Leonard,  and  his  tears  feil 
in  torrents. 


A    Kind-hearted   Man. 


(122) 


LEONARD    AND    GERTRUDE.  123 

"  Oh,  take  courage,  and  trust  in  thy  Father  in  Heaven,  and  all  will 
be  better  witli  thee.  It  goes  to  my  heart  to  make  thee  weep.  I  would 
gladly  keep  every  trouble  from  thee.  Thou  knowest  that,  by  thy  side, 
I  could  be  content  with  bread  and  water,  and  the  still  midnight  is 
often  to  me  an  hour  of  cheerful  labor  for  thee  and  the  children.  But, 
if  I  concealed  from  thee  my  anxiety  lest  I  be  separated  from  thee  and 
these  little  ones,  I  should  be  no  mother  to  them,  nor  true  to  thee. 
Our  children  are  yet  füll  of  gratitude  and  love  toward  us ;  but  if  we 
do  not  continue  to  act  as  parents,  their  love  and  tenderness  must 
needs  decrease ;  and  only  think  what  thou  wouldst  feel  if  Nicolas  had 
no  longer  a  home,  and  must  go  out  to  Service ;  if  he  and  all  these 
dear  children  should  become  poor^through  our  fault  —  should  cease  to 
thank  us,  and  begin  to  weep  for  us,  their  parents.  Leonard,  couldst 
thou  bear  to  see  thy  children  driven  out  of  doors  to  seek  their  bread 
at  another's  table?  Oh!  it  would  kill  me."  So  spoke  Gertrude,  and 
the  tears  feil  down  her  cheeks. 

Leonard,  not  less  affected,  cried :  ''What  shall  I  do,  miserable 
creature  that  I  am?  What  can  I  do?  I  am  more  wretched  than 
thou  knowest.  O  Gertrude !  Gertrude !  "  He  was  again  silent,  and 
wrung  his  hands. 

''  O  my  dear  husband,  do  not  distrust  God's  mercy !  Whatever 
it  be,  speak,  that  we  may  consult  together  and  comfort  each  other." 


THE  EVENING  BEFORE  A  SABBATH  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  A  GOOD 

MOTHER. 

Gertrude  was  alone  with  her  children.  The  events  of  the  week  and 
thoughts  of  the  approaching  festival  filled  her  heart.  In  thoughtful 
silence  she  prepared  the  supper,  took  from  the  closet  the  Sunday 
clothes  for  the  family,  and  laid  them  out  ready  for  the  morrow. 
When  she  had  corapleted  her  work  she  assembled  her  children  around 
the  table  to  pray  with  them.  It  was  her  custom  bn  Saturdays,  at  the 
hour  of  evening  prayer,  to  remind  them  of  their  faults  and  of  such 
occurrences  as  were  peculiarly  calculated  to  interest  and  please  them. 
This  day  she  remembered,  especially,  the  loving-kindness  of  God 
toward  her  during  the  past  week ;  and  she  wished,  as  far  as  possible, 
to  impress  deejDly  on  the  minds  of  the  children  the  tokens  which 
they  had  reeeived  of  the  goodness  and  raercy  of  God. 

The  children  sat  round  her  in  silence,  with  their  little  hands  folded 
for  prayer,  and  the  mother  began  thus : 

"Children,  I  have  good  news  to  teil  you.  Your  dear  father  has 
had  very  excellent  work  given  to  him  this  week,  by  which  he  will 


124  PESTALOZZI. 

earn  niuch  more  than  he  could  before ;  and  we  may  hoj)e,  my  chil- 
dren,  to  eat  our  bÄid  with  less  care  and  sorrow  in  future.  Give 
thanks,  therefore,'  imto  God,  our  loving  Father  in  Heaven,  for  his 
goodness  toward  us.  Reraember  often  the  old  times  when  I  was 
obliged,  with  care  and  anxiety,  to  portion  out  to  you  every  mouth- 
ful  of  bread.  Oh,  it  grieved  my  heart  that  many  a  time  I 
could  not  give  you  enough.  But  our  heavenly  Father  knew  that 
it  would  be  better  for  you,  my  dears,  to  be  accustomed  to  poverty 
and  patience,  and  learn  to  conquer  your  own  desires,  than  to  live  in 
plenty.  Oh,  my  children,  remember,  as  long  as  you  live,  our  days 
of  poverty  and  the  distress  and  sorrow  we  have  endured,  and  if  our 
condition  is  improved,  henceforth^  be  mindful  of  those  who  suffer 
even  as  you  have.     Will  you  do  so?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  dear  mother,  we  will,"  replied  the  children. 

"  Well,  then,  Nicolas,  whom  dost  thou  know  that  is  suffering  most 
from  hunger?" 

"  It  is  little  Rudi,"  said  Nicolas.  '*  He  is  almost  starving.  He  eats 
grass  from  the  ground." 

'' Wouldst  thou  like  to  give  him  thy  supj^er  now  and  then?" 

"Oh,  yes,  mother.     May  I  to-morrow?" 

"  Certainly,  thou  mayest,"  said  the  mother.  Then  turning  to 
Betti,  she  asked:  *'And  thou — to  whom  wouldst  thou  give  thy  supper?" 

Betti  named  some  poor  child,  and  so  did  the  other  children  as  each 
was  asked  in  turn,  all  being  delighted  in  anticipation  of  the  i)leasure 
they  would  bestow.  After  some  moments  the  mother  remarked: 
*'That  is  enough,  my  children.  Now  see  what  beautiful  presents 
his  lordship  Arner  has  made  you." 

"  Oh!  the  bright  pennies!  Will  you  show  them  to  us?"  cried  the 
children. 

"Yes,  after  prayers,"  said  Gertrude;  and  the  children  shouted  with 

joy- 

"You  are  noisy,  my  children,"  chided  the  mother.  "  If  something 
good  comes  to  you,  always  think  of  God,  the  giver.  I  rejoice  with 
you ;  but,  when  people  are  loud  and  violent  in  their  joy  or  sorrow, 
peace  and  evenness  of  temper  are  lost.  You  see,  children,  when 
you  thank  your  father  for  something,  you  do  not  make  much  noise ; 
you  fall  upon  his  neck  silently,  and  when  you  really  feel  it  in  your 
hearts,  the  tears  come  to  your  eyes.  So  it  should  be  toward  God. 
If  you  feel  very  much  joy  on  account  of  the  good  He  does  you,  and 
at  the  same  time  it  touches  your  heart,  I  am  sure  you  will  not  say 
many  words  or  make  much  noise,  but  the  tears  will  come  to  your 
eyes  in  thinking  how  good  your  heavenly  Father  is." 


/^  i 

LEONARD  AND    GERTKUDE.        ^1-               -^25  i 

^1-       ^  ,^ 

Gertrude,  after  giving  more  advice  to  her  ohildfen.  chaH!^ed  the"  /  j 
subject  of  conversation  by  asking:    "  But,  my  aears,"  n^e^w  has '  }S)ur 
conduct  beeil  this  week?"     The  children  looked  at  eacli'aiher,  bu/'/. 

Said  nothing.                                                                                            ^^/  \  i 

''Anne,  hast  thoii  been  a  good  girl  this  week?"  asked  Gertrude.    ^  / 

"No,  mother;  thou  knowest  what  I  did  with  my  Uttle  brother,"  re- '  /,  \ 

phed  Anne.  ,^ 

"Oh,  yes,  Anne.     The  poor  child  might  have  been  very  much  in-  ' 

jured.     Babes  left  in  that  way  have  sometimes  died.     Besides,  only  J 

think,  if  thou  wast  shut  up  by  thyself  in  a  room,  and  left  to  cry  and  i 

to  sufFer  thirst  and  hunger.     Keally,  Anne,  I  should  not  be  able  to  \ 

leave  this  house  for  a  moraent  if  I  were  not  so  sure  that  thou  wouldst  \ 

-i 

take  care  of  the  baby."  : 

"Trust  me,  dear  mother;    I  will  not  leave  him  again  for  a  single  ; 

moment,"  pleaded  Anne.  \ 

"Well,  I  hope  thou  wilt  not  give  me  another  such  fright.     Nie-  \ 

olas,  how  has  it  been  with  thee  this  week?"  : 

"  I  know  of  nothing  wrong,"  he  quickly  answered.  ■ 

"Hast  thou  forgotten  that  thou  didst  throw  down  Kate  last  Mon-  ,4 

day,"  Said  the  mother.  \ 

"  I  did  not  do  it  on  purpose,  mother."  : 

"  To  be  sure  thou  didst  not.     To  do  such  a  thing  on  purpose  would  ^ 

be  wicked,  indeed.     Art  thou  not  ashamed  to  make  such  an  excuse?"  \ 

"  I  am  sorry  for  it.     I  will  be  more  careful,"  said  Nicolas.  ^ 

"  Be  sure  not  to  forget  it,  my  dear.     Belle ve  me,  thy  carelessness  ■' 

will  certainly  make  thee  unhappy.     Well,  Betti,  how  hast  thou  be-  \ 

haved  this  week?"  1 

"I  am  sure  I  can  not  think  of  any  thing  wrong,  mother,"  replied  \ 

she.  ] 
"Art  thou  quite  sure,  Betti  ?  " 

"I  am,  indeed,  mother,  as  nearly  as  I  can  recollect.     I  should  not  \ 

mind  telling  it  if  I  knew."  i 

"It  is  very  odd  that  even  when  thou  hast  nothing  to  teil,  thou  ■ 

answerest  with  as  many  words  as  another  who  has  a  great  deal  to 

say."  ' 

"Well,  what  have  I  said  then?"  asked  Betti.  \ 

"  Thou  hast  said  nothing,  I  know,  but  thou  hast  given  a  long  answer.  ^ 

We  have  told  thee  a  thousand  times  that  thou  art  too  forward.     Thou  | 

never  thinkest  what  thou  shouldst  say,  and  yet  thou  art  always  talk- 

ing."     Gertrude  here  brought  to  Betti's  recollection  a  piece  of  for-  \ 

wardness  —  giving    an    envious    neighbor    some   Information    which  \ 

brought   her   father   into    trouble. 


126  PESTALOZZI. 

"I  am  very  sorry  for  it,"  replied  Betti ;  "  biit  neither  thou  nor 
father  had  said  a  word  about  not  wishing  nie  to  teil  of  it." 

"Then  it  will  be  necessary  that  to  whatever  we  say  in  this  room 
we  must  always  add:  Now,  this  is  a  thing  wliich  Betti  may  gossip 
about  at  the  neighbors'  door,  and  at  the  fountain ;  but  not  this,  and 
this,"  replied  Gertrude. 

'*  I  do  beg  thy  pardon,  mother ;  I  did  not  mean  it  so." 

*'  Thou  hast  been  told  onee  for  all,  that  thou  art  not  to  talk  of  any 
thing  which  is  no  business  of  tliine;  but  it  is  all  in  vain.  There  is 
no  getting  thee  out  of  that  habit,  except  by  severe  means ;  and  the 
very  first  time  I  overtake  thee  in  idle  gossip,  I  shall  niake  use  of  the 
rod." 

The  tears  burst  from  poor  Betti's  eyes  when  her  mother  mentioned 
the  rod.  Gertrude  saw  it,  and  said:  "The  greatest  mischief,  Betti, 
often  arises  out  of  idle  gossip,  and  thou  must  be  cured  of  that  fault." 

Thus  the  mother  discoursed  with  them  all.  Afterward,  Nicolas  re- 
peated  the  Saturday  evening  prayer  which  Gertrude  had  taught  him : 
"  Dear  Father  in  Heaven,  thou  art  always  kind  to  men  on  earth. 
From  thee  all  things  come  that  our  dear  father  and  mother  give  us. 
Dear  Father,  we  that  are  sitting  here  and  praying 
together,  are  brothers  and  sisters;  therefore,  we  will  be  kind  to  each 
other,  and  do  to  each  other  no  härm,  but  all  the  good  we  can.  We 
eider  ones  will  take  care  of  the  younger  ones  with  all  faithfulness 
and  diligence,  that  our  dear  father  and  mother  may  go  comfortably 
about  their  work  for  our  bread.  Alas !  this  is  all  we  can  do  for 
them,  for  all  the  trouble  and  expense  they  have  for  our  sakes.  Re- 
ward them,  O  Father  in  Heaven,  for  all  they  do  for  us,  and  make  us 
obedient  unto  their  commands,  that  we  may  remain  dear  unto  them 
to  the  end  of  their  lives." 

Here  Nicolas  was  to  stop,  and  they  prayed  according  to  what 
had  happened  through  the  week,  as  follows:  "  We  thank  thee,  O 
heavenly  Father,  that  thou  hast  lightened  the  heavy  bürden  of  our 
parents,  and  the  care  for  the  bread  for  themselves  and  their  chil- 
dren,  and  hast  blessed  our  dear  father  with  good  and  profitable  em- 
ployment.  We  thank  thee  that  our  lord  Arner  with  paternal  affec- 
tion  protects,  comforts,  and  assists  us  in  all  our  misery  and  distress. 
We  thank  thee  for  all  the  blessings  which  thou  hast  betowed  on  us 
through  him." 

Then  the  mother  taught  Betti  to  pray  in  this  manner:  ''Forgive 
me,  O  my  God,  my  besetting  sin,  and  teach  me  to  bridle  my  tongue; 
to  be  silent  when  I  ought  not  to  speak,  and  to  answer  considerately 
and  directly  when  I  am  asked." 


LEONAKD    AND   GERTEUDE.  127 

And  Nicolas  thus:  "  Preserve  nie,  O  Father,  from  all  hastiness, 
and  teach  me  to  be  on  my  guard,  and  to  see  Avhat  I  do,  and  who  is 
aboiit  me." 

And  Anne:  "I  am  sorry,  good  God,  for  leaving  my  dear  little 
brother  so  thoughtlessly,  and  so  frightening  my  dear,  good  mother. 
I  will  not  do  it  again  in  all  my  life.    Forgive  me,  I  pray  thee,  O  God." 

The  mother  then  said:  *'The  Lord  be  with  you ;  the  Lord  bless 
you ;  the  Lord  let  the  light  of  bis  countenance  shine  upon  you  and 
be  merciful  unto  you." 

After  this,  mother  and  children  sat  yet  a  little  while  in  that  solemn 
silence  which  a  true  prayer  always  imposes. 

Betti  interrupted  this  silence:  '' Wilt  thou  show  us  the  new  pen- 
nies?" said  she  to  her  mother. 

"I  will,"  replied  the  mother;  "  but  thou  art  always  the  iirst  to 
speak,  Betti." 

Nicolas  now  jumped  from  bis  seat,  and  pushed  forward  that  he 
miglit  be  nearer  the  candle  and  see  the  new  pennies  better,  and  in 
doing  so  hurt  the  baby,  so  that  he  began  to  cry. 

Then  said  the  mother:  ''Nicolas,  this  is  very  bad.  Thou  didst 
promise,  not  niore  than  a  quarter  of  an  hour  ago,  that  thou  wouldst 
be  more  careful,  and  now  see  what  thou  hast  done." 

"O  mother,"  said  Nicolas,  "I  am  very  sorry  for  it.  It  shall  not 
happen  any  more." 

"That  is  what  thou  didst  just  now  promise  to  God  Almighty,  and 
yet  thou  hast  been  careless  again,"  said  the  mother.  "  Thou  shalt  go 
to  bed  without  thy  supper." 

Thus  saying,  she  led  him  away  into  the  Chamber.  His  brothers 
and  sisters  all  stood  about  grieved,  for  they  were  sorry  that  poor  Nic- 
olas should  go  to  bed  without  his  supper.  "What  a  pity  it  is  that 
you  will  not  be  governed  by  kindness,"  said  the  mother,  when  she 
came  back. 

"Let  him  come  out  again  for  once,"  begged  the  children. 

"  No,  my  dears ;  he  must  be  cured  of  his  thoughtless  habits,"  was 
the  mother's  reply. 

"Well,  then,  w^e  will  not  see  the  pennies  tili  to-morrow,  that  he 
may  see  them  with  us,"  said  Anne. 

"Well  spoken,  Anne,"  answered  the  mother;  "he  shall  see  them 
with  you." 

After  this  she  gave  the  children  their  supper,  and  then  led  them  to 
the  Chamber  where  Nicolas  was  still  crying. 

"  Be  very  careful  another  time,  my  dear  Nicolas,"  said  the  mother 
to  him. 


128  PESTALOZZI. 

Nicolas  answered:  ''Pray  forgive,  dear,  dear  mother!  do  forgive 
and  kiss  me  ! " 

Gertrude  kissed  him,  and  a  burning  tear  flowed  down  her  cheek, 
when  she  said  to  him :  "O  Nicolas,  try  to  beconie  more  careful." 

Nicolas  threw  both  his  arms  round  her  neck,  and  said :  "  O  mother, 
forgive  me." 

Gertrude  once  more  blessed  her  children,  and  then  returned  to  her 
room,  which  was  lighted  by  a  small  lamp. 

She  was  now  quite  alone,  and  her  heart  was  still  in  silent  prayer, 
which  inexpressibly  moved  her  soul.  The  feeling  of  God's  goodness, 
the  hope  of  life  everlasting,  the  sense  of  that  internal  joy  and  j^eace 
which  dwells  in  those  who  trust  in  their  Heavenly  Father, — all 
stirred  her  soul,  and  she  feil  on  her  knees,  and  a  flood  of  tears  flowed 
over  her  cheeks. 

[The  moral  to  be  drawn  from  this  lesson  is  contained  in  the  follow- 
ing  directions  to  parents  in  regard  to  their  children : 

First. — Observe  the  nature  and  propensities  of  your  children,  in 
Order  to  be  able  to  educate  them  according  to  their  individual  wants 
and  talents. 

Seeond. —  Speak  to  them  in  a  simple,  intelligent  manner,  that  your 
words  and  sentiments  may  be  fully  understood.  A  prayer  from  the 
heart,  applied  to  circumstances,  is  better  than  a  formal  one  mechan- 
ically  repeated. 

Third.  —  Do  not  content  yourselves  with  preaching  of  love  and 
charity ;  but  try  to  make  the  children  loving  and  charitable.  Lead 
them  to  experience  the  pleasure  of  self-sacrifice,  that  they  may  better 
understand  this  crowning  excellence  of  the  human  character. 

Fourth. — Act  as  the  mediator  between  your  children  and  God ;  for 
they  can  not  appreciate  his  goodness  and  greatness.  In  order  to  be 
able  to  do  this,  become  yourselves  examples  of  love,  truthfulness,  and 
justice. 

Fifih. —  Be  firm,  and,  at  the  same  time,  kind.  Real  lov^e  never 
overlooks  faults:  it  corrects  them.  The  ultimate  gratitude  of  chil- 
dren is  of  more  value  than  their  temporary  gratification.] 


THE    DEATH-BED    OF   THE   GRAlfDMOTHER. 

Rudi  was  at  home  with  his  four  children.     His  wufe  had  died  three 
months  before,  and  his  mother,  who  now  lay  dying  on  a  miserable  bed, 


LEONARD   AND    GERTRUDE.  129 

Said  to  him:  "  Dear  Rudi,  bring  me  some  dried  leaves  to  fill  the 
coverlet:  I  feel  so  cold." 

"  I  will,  mother,"  said  Rudi,  "  as  soon  as  the  fire  in  the  stove  is 
out." 

"  Is  there  any  wood  left,  Rudi  ?  I  fear  there  is  not.  You  can 
not  well  go  into  the  woods  and  leave  me  and  the  children.  Oh !  my 
son,  I  am  a  bürden  to  thee." 

"  Do  not  speak  thus.  Thou  art  no  bürden  to  me,"  said  Rudi.  "  Oh 
that  I  could  give  thee  what  thou  needest !  Thou  sufferest  from  thirst 
and  hunger,  and  dost  not  coraplain :  this  pierces  my  heart,  mother." 

*'Be  easy  about  me,  Rudi.  The  Lord  be  praised,  my  pain  is  not 
great.  God  will  help  me  soon,  and  my  blessing  will  be  upon  thee, 
and  reward  thee  for  thy  love." 

"Never  before  was  I  so  grieved  at  my  poverty  as  now%  when  I  can 
not  help  thee.  O  God !  in  thy  sick  and  suffering  state  there  is 
nothing  to  relieve  thy  wants,"  said  Rudi  sadly. 

"When  the  end  approaches  we  want  but  little,  and  what  we  want  is 
given  by  our  Father  in  Heaven,"  said  the  mother.  "  I  thank  Him, 
my  son.     He  gives  me  strength  in  my  dying  hour." 

"Dost  thou  really  think,  mother,  that  thou  wilt  not  get  well?" 

"  Yes,  Rudi ;  I  am  sure  of  it." 

"O  God!" 

"  Be  consoled,  my  son :  I  enter  into  a  better  life.  Be  comforted : 
thou  wert  the  joy  of  my  younger  years,  and  now  thou  art  the  conso- 
lation  of  my  age.  Even  now  I  thank  God  that  thy  hands  wall  soon 
close  my  eyes.  Then  I  shall:  come  to  God  and  pray  for  thee,  and 
thou  wilt  prosper.  Remember,  all  the  sufferings  of  this  life,  when 
they  are  over,  are  but  a  blessing  to  us.  When  the  fruit  of  life 
ripens  in  autumn,  and  the  tree  casts  off  its  leaves  for  the  sleep  of 
winter,  then  the  sorrows  of  life  are  sacred,  and  the  joys  appear  like 
a  dream.  Remember  my  words,  thou  wilt  prosper  in  spite  of  thy 
sufferings.  But  there  is  one  thing  I  must  teil  thee,"  said  the  dying 
woman. 

"What  is  it,  mother?" 

"Isaw  yesterday  how  Rudeli  hid  himself  behind  my  bed,  and 
ate  baked  potatoes.  He  also  gave  his  brothers  and  sisters,  and  they 
ate  in  a  stealthy  manner.  O  my  son,  these  potatoes  were  not  ours,  or 
the  boy  would  have  thrown  them  on  the  table,  and  loudly  called  his 
companions  to  share  them.  Alas !  he  would  have  brought  one  to  his 
grandmother,  as  he  has  often  done  before.  I  was  always  touched  when 
he  brought  me  something  in  his  band,  and  said,  in  his  pretty  way, 
*Eat,  grandma.'  O  my  son,  only  think,  if  this  darling  boy  should 
P.  9. 


130  PESTALOZZI. 

become  a  thief.  How  this  thought  lias  tormented  me  since  yester- 
day!     Where  is  he?     Bring  him  here,  that  I  may  speak  to  him." 

The  father  sighed,  went  in  search  of  the  boy,  and  led  him  to  the 
bed  of  his  grandmother.  The  dying  woman  raised  herseif  up,  laid 
her  band  upon  the  boy,  and  bent  her  weary  head  upon  his. 

The  little  one  cried:  *' Grandma,  what  is  the  matter?  Thou  wilt 
not  die!     Oh,  do  not  die,  grandma!" 

She  answered,  in  a  broken  voice :  *' Rudeli,  I  certainly  shall  die 
soon."  For  want  of  breath  she  could  not  proceed,  and  was  obliged  to 
lie  down.  Father  and  son  were  melted  in  tears.  Soon  the  sufferer 
recovered  a  little,  and  said :   ''I  am  better  now,  when  I  lie  down." 

''Thou  wilt  not  die  now,  grandma!  Do  not  die!"  pleaded  the 
little  boy. 

"  Do  not  grieve  about  it,  Rudeli ;  I  like  to  die,  for  I  shall  go  to  a 
kind  Father.  If  thou  couldst  know  how  I  long  for  it,  thou  wouldst 
not  weep  for  me." 

"  I  will  die  with  thee,  grandma,"  said  Rudeli. 

The  grandmother,  smiling  feebly,  replied  :  "  No,  my  love ;  thou  wilt 
not  die  with  me.  Thou  wilt,  if  it  pleases  God,  live  long  and  become 
a  good  and  honest  man,  and  a  help  to  thy  father  when  he  shall  be 
old  and  feeble.  Wilt  thou  promise  me  to  be  obedient  to  him,  and  to 
behave  well?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  grandma ;  I  will  do  so  certainly." 

*'  O  child,  our  Father  in  Heaven,  to  whom  I  shall  soon  go,  sees 
and  hears  all  we  do  and  promise.  Dost  thou  know  this,  and  believe 
it,  Rudeli?" 

"  Yes,  grandma ;  I  know  this,  and  believe  it,"  answered  the  little 
boy. 

"  Why,  then,  didst  thou  yesterday  eat  potatoes  that  were  not  ours?" 
asked  the  grandmother. 

"Pardon  me,  grandma,"  entreated  Rudeli;  "I  shall  never  do  so 
any  more." 

"Were  they  stolen?" 

"Ye — es,  grandma,"  faltered  the  boy. 

"From  whom  were  they  stolen?" 

"  From  —  the  —  mason,  Leonard,"  stammered  Rudeli. 

"Thou  must  go  to  him  and  ask  his  forgiveness,"  said  the  grand- 
mother. 

"  O  grandma,  for  God's  sake !     I  have  not  the  courage  to  do  this." 

"  Thou  must  go  without  fail,  child.  Thou  wilt  think  more  of  what 
is  right  in  future.  But,  I  beg,  do  not  steal  any  more,  even  if  thou 
shouldst  feel  hungry." 


LEONARD    AND    GEKTRUDE.  131 

"  I  will  not  steal  any  more,  grandmother,  even  if  hunger  should 
kill  me,"  answered  the  boy. 

"Well,  then,  may  God,  in  whom  I  trust,  bless  thee  and  preserve 
thee,  my  dear ! "  She  pressed  him  to  her  heart,  and  then  weeping 
Said:  "Thou  must  now  go  to  the  mason  and  ask  his  pardon.  Rudi, 
go  with  him,  and  teil  Leonard  that  I  am  sorry  not  to  be  able  to  re- 
turn the  potatoes,  and  that  I  invoke  for  him  and  his  family  the  bless- 
ing  of  God.  I  am  grieved  to  think  of  them,  too ;  they  also  lack  the 
necessaries  of  life,  and  if  Gertrude  did  not  exert  herseif  day  and 
night,  they  could  hardly  support  their  large  family.  Thou,  Rudi,  I 
am  sure,  wilt  work  for  them  tili  the  wrong  they  have  suffered  is 
made  up." 

''  With  all  my  heart,  mother,"  said  Rudi.  At  this  moment  the 
bailiff  Hummel  knocked  on  the  window.  The  sick  woman  recognized 
him  by  his  cough,  and  said,  "Oh,  woe  to  us,  Rudi!  It  is  the  bailiff! 
I  am  sure  the  bread  and  butter  you  procured  for  my  soup  is  not  yet 
paid  for." 

"I  pray  you,  mother,  do  not  trouble  about  it,"  said  Rudi.  "  It  is 
of  no  consequence ;  I  shall  work  for  him  and  help  him  reap  his  corn 
at  harvest  time." 

"Alas !  he  will  not  w^ait  tili  then,"  said  the  mother.  Rudi  left  the 
room  to  see  what  the  bailiff  wanted.  The  mother,  left  alone,  said  to 
herseif:  "God  forgive  the  poor  misled  man.  Since  our  unfortunate 
lawsuit,  I  have  always  feit  as  if  pierced  by  a  dagger  on  seeing  him ; 
and  now,  alas  !  must  he  come  in  my  dying  hours  to  the  window  ? 
But  it  is  God's  will  that  I  forgive  him,  that  I  conquer  my  feelings 
and  pray  for  his  soul.  I  will  do  so.  O  God,  thou  didst  watch  our 
lawsuit ;  Father  in  Heaven,  forgive  him." 

She  heard  the  bailiff  talk  in  a  loud  voice,  and  said  tremblingly: 
"  He  is  angry.  Poor  Rudi !  for  my  sake,  thou  fallest  again  into  his 
power."  She  heard  his  voice  once  more,  and  fainted.  Rudeli  ran 
out  of  the  room,  crying,  "Father,  do  come  in:  I  believe  grand- 
mother is  dead." 

Rudi,  in  great  fright,  said:  "Excuse  me,  bailiff,  I  must  go  back  to 
the  room."  The  bailiff  shouted  after  him,  "Oh,  what  a  misfortune 
if  the  old  witch  should  die  at  last ! " 

Rudi,  hastening  back  to  his  mother,  did  not  hear  these  shocking 
words.  She  had  recovered  from  her  fit,  and,  opening  her  eyes,  said: 
"He  was  angry,  Rudi,  was  he  not?  He  would  not  wait  for  the 
payment?" 

"No,  mother,"  replied  Rudi,  "he  brought  a  very  good  message. 
But  hast  thou  entirely  recovered?" 


132  PESTALOZZI. 

"  I  have,"  says  the  mother,  fixing  her  eyes  on  him  in  deep  anxiety. 
"But  what  good  can  this  man  bring?  Dost  thoii  mean  to  deceive 
me  in  order  to  suffer  alone?     I  know  lie  has  threatened  thee." 

''No,  mother,  not  at  all,"  said  Rudi.  "He  has  announced  that  I 
have  work  at  the  church  which  is  going  to  be  built,  at  half  a  dollar 
per  day." 

"  God  be  praised!"  said  the  mother.     "  Is  it  really  true?" 

''There  is  no  doubt  of  it,"  answered  Rudi;  "and  the  work  will 
last  more  than  a  year." 

"Now  I  can  die  in  peace,"  said  the  mother.  "  Thou  art  good,  O 
God.  Be  thou  a  good  Father  to  this  family  until  the  end  of  their 
days.  O  Rudi,  believe  what  the  proverb  says :  '  The  more  threaten- 
ing  the  rod,  the  nearer  is  God.'"  ^^ 

She  was  silent  for  awhile,  and  then  continued :  "I  believe  my  end 
is  near.  My  breath  becomes  shorter.  The  Lord's  will  be  done.  I 
will  now  take  leave." 

Rudi  took  off  his  cap  with  a  trembling  band,  feil  on  his  knees  at 
the  side  of  liis  mother's  bed,  folded  his  hands,  raised  his  eyes  toward 
heaveii,  and  sobbed  in  the  agony  of  his  emotion. 

"Cheer  up,"  said  the  mother.  "I  trust  in  life  eternal,  where  we 
shall  meet  again.  Death  is  a  moment  which  passes  soon,  and  I  fear 
it  not.  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that  he  shall  stand  at 
the  latter  day  upon  earth ;  and  though  worms  destroy  this  body,  yet 
in  my  flesh  shall  I  see  God.  I  shall  see  him  for  myself ;  mine  eyes 
shall  behold  him,  and  not  another's." 

Rudi  so  far  recovered  as  to  say:  "Then  give  me  your  blessing,  O 
my  mother.     God  grant  that  I  may  follow  thee  soon  to  a  better  life." 

Then  said  the  mother:  "Father  in  heaven,  hear  me,  and  give  thy 
blessing  to  my  child,  the  only  one  thou  hast  given  me,  Rudi,  my 
God  and  Redeemer  will  be  with  thee,  and  as  he  blessed  Isaac  and 
Jacob  for  their  father's  sake,  so  may  he  grant  thee  abundance  of  good 
for  my  sake,  that  thy  heart  may  again  rejoice,  and  exult,  and  praise 
his  name.  Hear  me  now,  Rudi,  and  do  what  I  teil  thee.  Teach  thy 
children  order  and  obedience,  that  they  may  not  become  disorderly, 
and  dissipated  in  their  poverty.  Teach  them  to  trust  in  God  in 
heaven,  and  to  remain  united  as  brothers  and  sisters  through  troub- 
les  and  joys ;  then  they  will  be  happy.  Forgive  also  the  bailiff,  and, 
when  I  am  dead  and  buried,  go  to  him  and  teil  him  that  I  have  died 
with  a  reconciled  heart,  and  that  if  God  will  listen  to  my  prayers, 
he  will,  for  his  own  good,  come  to  a  knowledge  of  himself  before  his 
death." 

After  awhile  she  continued:   "Rudi,  give  me  my  two  Bibles,  my 


LEONARD   AND    GERTRUDE.  133 

prayer-book,  and  the  dociiraent  which  is  in  that  box."  Rudi  arose 
from  bis  knees  and  brougbt  the  desired  objects  to  bis  motber.  ''Now, 
bring  me  all  the  children,"  said  she. 

He  called  them  from  the  table,  round  which  they  sat  crying,  and 
they,  too,  knelt  at  the  bed  of  their  grandmother,  who  addressed  them 
thus:  "Do  not  weep,  O  my  beloved  onesi  Your  Father  in  heaven 
will  protect  and  bless  you.  You  are  dear  to  me,  my  children,  and 
I  am  grieved  to  leave  you  so  poor  and  without  a  motber  to  care  for 
you.  But  trust  in  God,  and  hope  in  him  always,  and  you  will  find 
in  him  more  than  a  father's  help  and  a  mother's  care.  Remember 
me,  my  beloved  ones:  I  leave  you  nothing  but  my  love,  and  I  take 
your  love  with  me.  My  Bibles  and  my  prayer-book  are  almost  all  I 
have,  but  they  have  given  me  peace  and  consolation  a  thousand 
times,  during  my  hard  pilgrimage.  Let  God's  word  be  your  conso- 
lation and  joy.  O  my  dear  children,  may  you  help  and  advise  each 
other,  and  be  sincere,  kind,  and  obliging  toward  all  men,  for  then 
will  your  lives  be  happy.  Rudi,  keep  for  Bessie  the  larger,  and  for 
Rudeli  the  smaller  Bible,  and  for  the  two  little  ones  the  prayer-book 
in  memory  of  me.  Alas !  I  have  nothing  for  thee,  Rudi ;  but  thou 
wilt  not  need  any  thing  to  remind  thee  of  me." 

Once  more  she  was  obliged  to  stop  from  faintness ;  her  breath  be- 
came  shorter;  but,  making  another  eifort,  she  said  to  Rudeli:  "  Give 
me  thy  band,  my  dear,  and  never  steal  any  thing  again." 

*'No,  no,  grandmother,  believe  me,"  repeated  the  little  boy,  with 
a  flow  of  tears. 

''Well,  I  do  believe  thee,  and  pray  God  for  thee,"  said  the  grand- 
mother. ''Look  here:  this  paper  I  give  to  thy  father;  it  is  a  testi- 
monial  from  the  clergyman  in  whose  house  I  have  served.  When 
thou  art  older,  read  it  and  think  of  me,  and  be  pious  and  honest." 
It  was  a  testimonial  from  the  late  clergyman  of  Eichstädt,  to  the 
effect  that  Catherine  had  served  in  bis  house  for  ten  years,  and  had 
helped  him  train  bis  children  after  the  death  of  bis  wife,  and  had 
done  it  in  a  most  trustworthy  manner,  and  that  he  could  never  forget 
what  she  had  done  for  himself  and  bis  family  in  bis  need.  Cather- 
ine had  indeed  earned  a  considerable  sum  in  the  service  of  this  cler- 
gyman, and  had  given  it  to  her  husband  for  the  purchase  of  land, 
which  the  bailiff  afterwards  had  claimed  and  obtained  through  per- 
jury  and  fraud. 

After  a  few  directions  in  regard  to  the  children's  clothing,  and  to 
the  care  necessäry  for  their  health,  she  again  said:  "I  am  very  sorry 
to  leave  thee  so  forsaken ;  but  take  courage  and  do  what  thou  canst. 
The  wages  which  thou,  Rudi,  wilt  earn  in  thy  new  engagement,  will 


134  PESTALOZZI. 

help  thee  considerably.  How  I  thank  God  for  this  blessing!"  She 
then  paused,  aiid  father  and  children  remained  on  tlieir  kiiees  for 
some  time  longer,  and  said  all  the  prayers  they  knew.  They  then 
arose,  and  Rudi  said  to  his  mother:  "I  will  get  thee  dried  leaves  for 
thy  coverlet."  She  answered:  "There  is  no  need  for  it  now,  since 
the  room  feels  warmer.  Thou  hadst  better  go  to  the  niason  with  the 
little  boy." 

Rudi  whispered  to  Bessie  to  take  care  of  grandmother,  and  if  any 
thing  should  happen,  to  send  Annette  to  the  mason's  house,  where 
she  would  find  him.  Rudi  then  took  his  trembling  boy  by  the  band, 
and  went  with  him  to  the  mason's.  Gertrude,  who  was  at  home 
alone,  saw  immediately  that  both  had  tears  in  their  eyes.  "What 
do  you  want,  neighbor?  Why  do  you  weep?  Why  does  this  little 
one  weep?"  questioned  she,  taking  Rudeli  by  the  band. 

"O  Gertrude,  I  am  wretched,"  said  Rudi.  "I  must  see  thee,  be- 
cause  Rudeli  has  taken  potatoes  from  thy  cellar.  Grandmother  saw 
him  eat  them  yesterday,  and  he  has  confessed  it.  Pardon  me,  Ger- 
trude, my  mother  is  dying.  O  God,  she  has  taken  leave  of  us.  I 
am  so  troubled  that  I  hardly  know  what  I  say.  I  am  sorry  not  to 
be  able  to  give  them  back  now,  but  I  wdll  w^ork  willingly  for  thee. 
Pardon  him ;  the  boy  did  it  when  tormented  with  hunger." 

**Do  not  speak  of  this,  Rudi,"  said  Gertrude;  "and  thou,  dear 
boy,  must  promise  me  never  again  to  take  any  thing  of  any  body." 
She  then  kissed  him  and  said:  "Thou  hast  a  good  grandmother; 
try  to  be  as  good  and  pious  as  she." 

"Forgive  me,  lady,  I  will  not  steal  any  more,  I  assure  thee,"  said 
Rudeli. 

"  No,  child,  do  not  steal  any  more.  Thou  dost  not  yet  know  how 
miserable  and  wretched  thieves  become.  If  thou  art  hungry,  come 
to  me  and  teil  me  so,  and  when  I  can,  I  will  give  thee  what  thou 
needest." 

Then  said  Rudi:  "I  thank  God  that  I  can  now  earn  something 
through  the  building  of  the  church,  and  hope  that  hunger  will  no 
longer  lead  him  astray." 

"  We  were  glad  to  see  that  Arner  did  think  of  thee  in  this  build- 
ing," replied  Gertrude.  "I  am  so  glad  that  thy  mother  could  live 
long  enough  to  hear  this  consoling  new^s." 

*'  Oh,  teil  thy  husband  that  I  will  work  honestly  for  him  from 
morning  tili  evening,  and  I  insist  on  having  the  price  of  the  potatoes 
deducted  from  my  wages." 

"  Not  a  Word  about  that,  Rudi,"  replied  Gertrude.  "  My  husband 
knows  his  duty  better.     We  also  have  been  much  relieved  by   the 


LEONAKD   AND    GERTRUDE.  135 

contract  for  the  church.  But,  Kudi,  I  will  go  with  thee  to  thy 
mother,  if  she  is  so  near  death." 

Gertrude  filled  Rudeli's  pocket  with  dried  fruit,  and  then  they  all 
went  to  Rudi's  house.  She  saluted  the  dying  woman,  and,  weeping, 
took  her  hand. 

"Thou  art  weeping,"  said  Catherine.  "  TFe  ought  to  do  so.  Hast 
thou  quite  forgiven  us?" 

"Forgiven  thee  what?  Catherine,  thy  misery  affects  me,  and 
more  still  thy  goodness  and  care.  God  will  certainly  bless  thee  for 
the  care  thou  hast  bestowed  on  these  poor  children." 

*'Hast  thou  forgiven  us?"  again  asked  Catherine. 

"  Do  not  mention  this !  O  Catherine,  I  do  wish  I  could  help  thee 
in  thy  present  siekness,"  answered  Gertrude. 

"God  will  soon  help,"  answered  Catherine.  "Rudeli,  hast  thou 
asked  her  pardon.     Has  she  forgiven  thee?" 

"  Oh,  yes ;  see  how  kind  she  is ! "  answered  Rudeli,  showing  her 
the  pocket  of  fruit. 

"Slumber  creeps  over  me,"  murmured  the  dying  woman.  —  "But 
hast  thou  asked  her  forgiveness  with  all  thy  soul  ? " 

"  Yes,  grandmother,  belle ve  me  I  was  in  füll  earnest,"  said  Rudeli. 

"Slumber  overpowers  me,  and  my  eyes  get  dark.  Gertrude  —  I 
want  to  ask  you  something  —  but  may  I?  —  This  wretched  child  — 
has  Stolen  from  thee — these  poor  forsaken  children — they  are  so 
forsaken  —  (she  stretched  out  her  hand,  but  her  eyes  were  shut) 
may  I  hope  —  obey  her,  Rudeli."  Without  finishing  her  sentence 
she  expired. 

Rudi,  believing  that  she  slept,  said:  "Let  no  one  speak  a  word! 
she  sleeps.  Oh,  that  she  might  recover ! "  Gertrude,  conjecturing 
that  it  might  be  death,  said  so  to  Rudi.         ..... 

I  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  desolation  of  the  poor  man  and 
his  children.  Reader,  let  me  pause  here  and  weep ;  for  it  moves  my 
heart  to  think  how  humanity  rises  from  the  dust  of  poverty  to  im- 
mortal  bliss,  and  how  it  withers  in  the  pomp  and  splendor  of  this 
World. 

Oh,  man  learn  to  appreciate  the  value  of  life  at  the  death-bed  of 
the  just;  and  you  w^ho  despise  and  pity  the  poor  without  knowing 
them,  teil  me,  whether  he  has  been  unblessed  or  unhappy  who  can 
die  thus? 

PASSAGE   FROM   A   FÜNERAL  SERMON. 

"  Ölessed  is  the  man,  of  whom,  when  he  is  dead,  no  one  speaks 
much ;  blessed  is  he,  if  the  poor,  in  silence,  shed  tears  to  his  memory ; 


136  PESTALOZZI. 

blessed  if  his  wife,  his  children,  his  friends,  his  servants,  grieve  for 
him.  But  if  thousands  foUow  his  hier,  and  every  one  speaks  of  him, 
then  ask  I  with  mistrust,  if  the  hearts  of  his  wife  and  children  bleed, 
if  his  friends  and  servants  weep  because  he  is  with  them  no  more. 
And  generally  I  find  the  eyes  of  all  these  dry." 

With  these  extracts,  which  serve  to  show  the  aim  of  the  book,  we 
must  be  content.  It  is  one  of  the  works  of  Pestalozzi,  which  has 
been  translated  into  other  languages,  and  lately  into  English  by  Hon. 
Henry  Barnard,  late  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education.  It  is  not 
probable  that  the  work  will  ever  become  very  populär  with  a  people 
differing  so  widely  in  thought,  feeling,  and  sentiment  from  those  to 
whom  it  was  first  addressed.  Yet  human  nature  is  the  same  ev^ery- 
where,  and  to  those  who  can  pierce  through  the  shell  of  local  man- 
ners to  the  love,  the  wisdora,  the  pathos  within,  it  may  prove  a 
source  of  pleasure  and  profit. 


I^IÜK  A  K  V 
I^ALIFOUNIA. 

CHAPTER    III.  i 

i 

"  CHRISTOPHEK  AND  ELIZA."  J 

\ 

DOMESTIC  education  and  social  reform  were  considered  so  im- 

portant  by  Pestalozzi,  that,  after  completing  "  Leonard  and  Ger-  ] 

trude,"  he  wrote  another  treatise  upon  these  subjects,  entitled  "  Chris-  \ 

topher  and  Eliza,"  which  was  published  in  1782.     In  the  preface  to  ' 

the  first  edition  of  this  book,  Pestalozzi  remarks  that  it  was  written  \ 
principally  to  supply  a  commentary  to  ''  Leonard  and  Gertrude,"  the 

moral  lessons  of  which  he  wished  to  impress  upon  the  convictions  of  \ 

the  people.     He  concludes  by  saying:   "I  know  it  will  appear  tedi-  i 
ous  to  mere  novel   readers,  but  I  desire  that  it  should  be  read  in 
humble  cottages,  many  of  the  inmates  of  which  will  find  in  it  senti- 

ments  corresponding  to  their  own  experiences."  \ 

Forty  years  after  ward,  Avhen  preparing  for  the  republication  of  his 

works,  he  confesses  that  the  book  did  not  get  into  the  hands  of  the  \ 

common  people,    that  it  could    not    be  found    even  in   the  village  i 

where  he  lived.     As  the  principal  cause  of  this  apparent  neglect,  he  \ 

accuses  the  spirit  of  the  times,  which,  he  says,  "was  opposed  to  his  i 

reformatory  notions  on  education  and  other  subjects."  i 

We  do  not  think  this  criticism  either  just  or  true,  since  the  public  j 
had  welcomed  the  same  ideas  in  "  Leonard  and  Gertrude."     On  the 

contrary,  we  believe,  this  want  of  popularity  was  entirely  attributable  i 
to  the  nianner  in  which  the  subject  was  treated.  Truths  are  populär  ^  \ 
when  presented  in  the  guise  of  an  interesting  story,  written  in  simple  j.  | 
language ;  but  they  are  exceedingly  unpalatable  when  in  the  form  of  v  1 

abstruse  reasonings  and  dry  expositions.  1 

In  the  book  under  consideration,  Pestalozzi  committed  several  grave  \ 

errors;  yet  it  contains  many  passages  which  bear  the  stamp  of  the  ) 

vigor  and  originälity  of  his  thought.  \ 

The  personages,  who,  during  thirty  evenings,  are  supposed  to  read  \ 

and  discuss   as    many  chapters   of   "Leonard    and    Gertrude,"   are:  \ 

Christopher,  a  wealthy  and  intelligent  farmer ;  Eliza,  his  wife ;  Jo-  \ 
siah,  their  servant ;  and  Fritz,  their  son. 

By  a  Strange  anomaly,  which  is  in  strong  contrast  with  the  usual 

(137)  \ 


138  PESTALOZZI. 

Order  of  things,  Josiah  is  the  principal  Speaker,  and  the  one  who 
deals  most  in  abstruse  reflections.  Christopher  is  next  in  importance; 
while  Eliza  only  occasionally  makes  shrewd  and  sensible  remarks, 
mostly  upon  moral  and  educational  qnestions.  Fritz  is  a  silent  list- 
ener,  but,  at  the  end  of  each  conversation,  is  requested  to  sum  up 
all  the  maxims  which  he  has  gathered  from  the  story  or  the  discus- 
sion.  The  little  prodigy  does  this  with  such  an  amount  of  wisdom, 
originality,  and  wit,  and  in  such  flowing  language,  that  one  is  aston- 
ished  at  the  precocity  of  even  an  imaginary  child.  We  select  the 
following : 

''  That  is  my  chapter,  father,"  said  Eliza,  when  Christopher  had 
read  the  twelfth  chapter  of  the  book.  "A  pious  mother,  who  herseif 
teaches  her  children,  seems  to  me  to  be  the  finest  sight  on  earth." 

"  It  is  very  different  from  any  that  we  see  in  the  school-room,"  said 
Josiah. 

"  I  did  not  mean  to  say  that  schools  are  not  good,"  interposed 
Eliza. 

"  Nor  would  I  allow  myself  to  think  so,"  added  Christopher. 

"  The  school-master's  Instruction  will  never  reach  children's  hearts 
in  the  sarae  way  as  the  lessons  their  parents  teach  them,"  said 
Josiah;  *'and  I  am  sure  that  in  going  to  school,  there  is  not  all  the 
good  that  people  fancy  there  is." 

"I  fear,  Josiah,"  said  Christopher,  *'that  you  are  out  of  your 
sphere.  We  ought  to  thank  God  for  all  the  good  there  is  in  the 
World,  and  as  for  our  schools,  we  can  not  be  sufficiently  thankful 
for  them." 

''Weil  spoken,  master,"  answered  Josiah.  *'It  is  well  that  there 
are  schools ;  and  God  forbid  that  I  should  be  ungrateful  for  any  good 
that  is  done  to  us.  Yet,  I  think  he  must  be  a  fool,  who,  having 
plenty  at  home,  runs  about  begging;  and  that  is  the  very  thing 
which  our  villagers  do,  when  they  forget  all  the  good  lessons  which 
they  might  teach  their  children  at  home,  and  send  them  every  day 
to  gather  up  the  dry  crumbs  which  are  to  be  found  in  our  miserable 
schools.     I  am  sure  that  is  not  quite  as  it  ought  to  be." 

'*  Nor  is  it  quite  as  you  have  put  it,"  said  Christopher. 

*'Nay,  master,"  continued  Josiah;  "only  look  it  in  the  face,  and 
you  will  see  it  the  same  as  I  do.  What  parents  can  teach  their  chil- 
dren is  always  what  they  most  need  in  life;  and  it  is  a  pity  that 
parents  should  neglect  this,  by  trusting  in  the  words  which  the  school- 
master  makes  them  learn  by  heart.  It  is  very  true,  they  may  be 
good  and  wise  words,  and  have  an  excellent  meaning  to  them ;  but, 


CHRISTOPHER  AND    ELIZA.  139 

after  all,  they  are  only  words,  and,  Coming  from  the  mouth  of  a 
stranger,  they  do  not  come  half  as  near  home  as  a  father's  or 
a  mother's  words." 

''I  can  not  see  what  you  aim  at,  Josiah,"  said  Christopher. 

X^    *'Look,  master.     The  great  point  in   bringing   up  a  child  is  that 

(      he  should  be  well  trained  for  his  own  home.     He  must  learn  to  know 

\     and  use  those  things  on  which  his  bread  and  happiness  will  depend 

)    through  life ;  and  it  seems  to  me  very  piain  that  fathers  and  mothers 

/    can  teach  that  much  better  at  home  than  any  school-master  can  in 

\    his   school.     No    doubt  the  school-master  teils  the   children  a  great 

/    many  things  that  are  right  and  good ;  but  they  are  never  worth  as 

;       much  from  his  mouth  as  from  that  of  an  upright  father  or  a  pious 

mother. 

"  The  school-master,  for  instance,  will  teil  the  child  to  fear  God, 
and  honor  his  father  and  mother,  for  such  is  the  word  of  God ;  but 
the  child  understands  Httle  of  what  he  says,  and  generally  forgets  it 
before  he  comes  home.  But,  if  at  home,  his  father  gives  him  milk 
and  bread,  and  his  mother  denies  herseif  a  morsel,  that  she  niay  give 
it  to  him,  the  child  feels  and  understands  that  he  ought  to  honor  his 
father  and  mother,  who  are  so  kind  to  him;  and  he  will  not  forget 
his  father's  words,  when  he  teils  him  that  such  is  the  word  of  God. 
In  the  same  way,  if  the  child  is  told  at  school  to  be  merciful,  and  to 
love  his  neighbor  as  himself,  he  learns  the  text  by  heart,  and,  per- 
haps,  thinks  of  it  for  a  few  days,  tili  the  nice  words  slip  from  his 
memory.  At  home,  he  sees  a  poor  neighbor's  wife,  calling  upon  his 
mother,  lamenting  over  her  misery,  her  hunger,  and  nakedness ;  he 
sees  her  pale  countenance,  her  emaciated  and  trembling  figure  —  the 
very  image  of  wretchedness ;  his  heart  throbs,  his  tears  flow ;  he  lifts 
up  his  eyes  füll  of  grief  and  anxiety  to  his  mother,  as  if  he  were 
himself  starving ;  he  sees  his  mother  bring  refreshments  for  the  poor 
sufferer,  in  whose  looks  the  child  now  reads  comfort  and  reviving 
hope ;  his  anguish  ceases ;  his  tears  flow  no  longer ;  he  approaches 
her  with  a  smiling  face ;  the  mother's  gift  is  received  with  sobs  of 
gratitude,  which  again  draw  tears  to  the  child's  eye.  Here  he  learns 
what  it  is  to  be  merciful,  and  love  one's  neighbor.  He  learns  it  with- 
out  the  aid  of  words,  by  the  real  fact;  he  sees  mercy,  instead  of 
learning  words  about  mercy." 

To  this  Christopher  replied :  "I  must  own  I  begin  to  think  that 
too  much  value  is  put  upon  the  school-master's  teaching." 

''Of  course,"  said  Josiah;  if  you  send  your  sheep  up  into  the 
mountains,  you  rely  upon  their  being  well  cared  for  by  the  shepherd, 
who   is  paid  for  doing  it,  and  you  do   not   think   of  running   after 


140  PESTALOZZI. 

them.  It  is  just  the  same  tliing  with  the  school,  with  this  difference : 
it  is  easy  to  get  in  pastures  better  food  than  can  be  foimd  in  stables ; 
but  it  is  not  so  easy  to  find  a  school  in  which  the  children  are  better 
taught  than  they  might  be  at  home.  The  parents'  teaching  is  the 
kernel  of  wisdom,  and  the  school-master's  business  is  only  to  make  a 
husk  over  it,  and  even  then  it  is  a  chance  if  it  turns  out  well." 

"Why,  you  make  one's  brain  whirl,"  said  Eliza.  "I  think  I  see 
now  what  you  are  after.  I  fancy  many  a  poor  Ignorant  mother,  who 
now  sends  her  children  to  school  without  thinking  any  thing  about  it, 
merely  because  it  is  the  custom  to  do  so,  would  be  very  glad  to  be 
taught  better." 

''There  is  yet  another  part  of  the  story,"  said  Josiah.  "If  the 
children  must  be  sent  to  school,  the  school-master  should  be  an  open- 
hearted,  affectionate,  and  kind  man,  who  would  be  like  a  father  to 
the  children ;  a  man  made  to  open  children's  hearts  and  mouths,  and 
draw  forth  their  ideas.  In  most  schools,  however,  it  is  just  the  con- 
trary.  The  master  seems  to  shut  their  hearts  and  mouths,  and  bury 
their  common  sense.  This  is  the  reason  why  healthy  and  cheerful 
children,  whose  hearts  are  füll  of  joy  and  glaxiness,  hardly  ever  like 
the  school ;  while  stupid  dunces,  who  have  no  pleasure  with  other 
children,  are  the  bright  Ornaments  there.  If  there  is  a  boy  among 
them  who  has  too  much  good  sense  to  keep  his  eyes  for  hours  fixed 
on  a  dozen  letters  which  he  hates;  or  a  merry  girl  who,  while  the 
school-master  discourses  of  spiritual  life,  plays  with  her  little  hands  all 
sorts  of  temporal  fun  under  the  desk,  the  master,  in  his  wisdom,  de- 
clares  these  the  goats  w^ho  care  not  for  their  everlasting  salvation." 

Thus  spoke  the  good  Josiah  in  the  overflowing  of  his  zeal  against 
the  nonsense  of  the  village  schools,  and  his  master  and  mistress  gave 
more  and  more  attention  to  what  he  said. 

After  discussmg  the  subject  more  fuUy,  the  father  turned  to  Fritz, 
and  said:  ''Well,  Fritz,  what  have  you  gathered  from  this  evening's 
conversation?" 

''  That  men  are  foolish  to  ask  alms  outside  the  house,  when  there 
is  abundance  within,"  answered  Fritz. 

"What  eise?" 

"  That  the  country  children  ought  to  be  educated  for  the  field,  the 
barn,  the  house,  and  not  merely  for  talk." 

"What  more?"  asked  Christopher. 

"That  school  knowledge  is  to  many  a  child  like  unaccustomed 
food,  upon  which  he  will  not  thrive." 

"Is  that  all?"  said  his  father. 

"That  a  father's    Instruction  is  like   the   kernel,  and  the   school- 


CHRISTOPH  ER  AND    ELIZA.  141 

master's,  at  most,  like  a  shell  protecting  it,  and  that  the  common 
people  need  common  sense  most." 

"Any  thing  more?" 

*'That  the  school  ought  to  be  an  auxiliary  to  the  nursery,  where 
father  and  mother  plant  the  germs  of  all  virtue  and  all  knowledge." 

"  It  has  always  appeared  to  me  that  cunning  is  not  true  wisdom, 
for  only  honest  men  can  possess  that,"  said  Christopher. 

"That  is  so,"  said  Josiah.  ''True  wisdom  proceeds  from  love,  and 
brings  blessing  and  peace  to  its  owner,  and  to  all  those  who  depend 
on  him.  Cunning  proceeds  from  selfishness  and  want  of  love,  and 
brings  trouble  and  sufFering  upon  a  man  who  acts  under  its  influence, 
and  to  those  whom  he  rules  or  serves.  If  you  are  anxious  to  observe 
the  effects  of  such  cunning  in  a  man,  go  to  the  poor,  whom  he  uses 
as  his  tools,  and  they  will  teil  you  how  small  is  his  wisdom.  One 
will  teil  you  that  he  has  to  praise  his  lean  ox  as  a  fat  one,  in  order 
to  induce  some  greenhorn  to  buy  ;  another  has  to  Iure  a  stranger  into 
his  net.  They  will  also  teil  you  that  they  have  to  speak  highly  of 
his  honor  and  virtue,  even  when  their  hearts  bleed  from  his  injustice. 
They  must  cover  his  sins  and  deny  his  cruelty,  at  least  within  his 
hearing  and  knowledge. 

"But  he  who  indulges  in  such  tricks,  or  incites  others  to  them, 
feels  flattered  if  people  talk  of  his  keen  understanding,  merely  be- 
cause  he  practices  his  wit  day  and  night  in  matters  with  which 
honest  people  will  have  nothing  to  do.  On  the  other  band,  he 
shows  himself  often  quite  foolish  and  inexperienced  in  important 
matters  with  which  honest  men  are  thoroughly  familiär.  No  scoun- 
drel  has  ever  been  able  to  keep  that  admixture  of  foUy  and  madness 
which  characterizes  vice,  always  under  his  control,  so  that  it  will  not 
ooze  out  when  he  least  expects  it." 

**What  do  you  think  is  the  reason  that  men  live  so  unwisely  tili 
their  last  hour  comes  ?  "  asked  Eliza. 

"The  neglect  of  home,  without  doubt,"  answered  Josiah.  "Man 
must  have  for  his  heart  a  hearth,  where  the  fire  never  goes  out ; 
there  he  must  get  strength,  rest,  and  refreshment.  After  leaving  his 
home,  he  goes  to  his  work  with  new  courage.  Love  of  mankind  is 
not  nurtured  in  the  harren  regions  of  a  vagabond  life ;  it  requires 
fostering  care  in  the  sanctuary  of  home,  as  the  neblest  and  tenderest 
plants  require  the  greatest  care  at  the  band  of  the  gardener.  But 
when  the  tender  plant  of  home-grown  virtue  has  taken  root,  let  it 
be  transferred  to  any  soll,  and  it  will  thrive.     If  one  behaves  well 


142  PESTALOZZI. 

as  father,  mother,  soii,  you  may  trust  him  anywhere,  although  he 
may  change  his  relations ;  since  the  propelling  motive  of  his  actions 
will  always  be  the  same,  whether  you  call  it  duty,  obedience,  or 
tender  affection." 

*'Heed  my  words,  Fritz,"  said  Eliza,  "and  do  not  scofF  at  any 
tliing  which  is  sacred  to  thy  fellow-men,  and  necessary  to  their  peace 
and  welfare;  which  protects  good  order  in  society,  and  renders  the 
last  hours  of  man  serene." 

"Yes,  my  son,"  added  Christopher,  "you  must  fear  God,  love 
your  parents,  and  honor  your  superiors,  if  you  would  wish  to  fare 
well  on  earth." 

"Do  so,  my  dear  boy,  with  an  innocent  and  simple  heart,"  said 
Josiah.  "  Yet  never  be  afraid  to  search  after  truth  and  to  stand  by 
it;  to  oppose  him  who  uses  arbitrary  power,  and  wishes  to  circum- 
vent  you  with  lies  in  order  to  effect  wrong.  Least  of  all,  do  not  suffer 
yourself  to  be  blinded  by  priests,  when,  under  the  name  of  religion, 
you  see  them  only  intent  on  furthering  their  own  interests.  When 
they  teach  you  immortality,  then  listen  to  them  in  faith  and  grati- 
tude,  for  it  is  God's  word.  If  you  hope  to  be  pious,  abhor  the  man 
who  weakens  the  simple  faith  of  the  people  in  immortality,  and  ridi- 
cules  the  Avord  of  God  in  his  intercourse  with  the  poor  and  helpless, 
who  are  most  in  want  of  it.  Such  a  man  is  like  him  who  despises 
bread  and  feeds  on  husks.  Oh,  flee  from  the  insane  one,  who 
scoffs  at  that  which  refreshes  and  comforts  so  many  thousands  of  thy 
brethren.  The  hope  of  immortality  lies  deep  in  the  inmost  soul,  and 
he  who  teaches  it,  teaches  the  word  of  God." 

[The  fact,  that,  in  the  chapter  which  we  have  quoted  from 
"  Leonard  and  Gertrude,"  relating  to  the  death  of  the  grandmother, 
the  dying  woman's  thoughts  were  fixed  on  things  of  earth  rather 
than  heaven  —  the  fact  that  she  was  more  anxious  in  regard  to 
the  helpless  and  motherless  children  she  was  leaving  than  for  her 
own  future  condition,  afforded  a  pretext  for  a  great  deal  of  adverse 
criticism  from  the  religious  teachers  of  the  day, 

Pestalozzi  was  accused  of  holding  materialistic  views  concerning 
death,  and  of  not  having  true  piety  and  devotion.  The  zeal  with 
which  these  charges  were  urged  was  doubtless  intensified  by  the  fact 
that  he  never  tried  to  conceal  his  aversion  for  a  religion  which  con- 
sisted  in  words  and  dogmas,  and  was  not  accompanied  by  acts  of 
love,  fidelity,  and  sacrifice.  In  the  foUowing  extract  we  have  a  reply 
to  his  detractors.] 


CHRISTOPHER    AND    ELIZA.  143 

"The  greatest  thing  that  religion  can  give  iis  is  strength  for  all 
that  is  good'  and  useful,"  said  Christopher.  "  Keligion  ought  to  give 
me  the  conviction  that  on  leaving  earth  I  leave  nothing,  that  my 
soul  absorbs  its  cares,  and  that  my  hopes  reach  beyond  this  temporal 
abode ;  but  for  this  very  reason  it  must  enable  me  to  use  my  strength 
for  the  benefit  of  my  family  and  my  race. 

"  Religion  does  not  call  men  away  from  the  duties  of  this  earth, 
but  it  gives  them  strength  to  the  last  moment  to  take  care  of  what 
has  been  intrusted  to  them.  Did  not  Christ,  when  on  the  cross, 
show  his  care  for  his  earthly  mother  by  recommending  her  to  the 
care  of  his  favorite  disciple  ?  I  may  be  misunderstood,  and  perhaps 
do  not  express  accurately  my  idea  when  I  say,  that  man  is  not  made 
for  religion,  but  religion  for  man.  Religion  is  an  essence  wliich  takes 
possession  of  a  man's  soul,  and  leads  him  away  from  his  own  carnal 
tendencies ;  it  consists  rather  in  powers  than  in  words ;  it  is  a  store- 
house  füll  of  good  Instruments,  rather  than  a  saloon  filled  with 
charming  and  fascinating  Images.  That  which  presents  itself  to  men 
as  an  idol  with  which  to  make  a  constant  display,  is  not  religion. 

"The  way  to  heaven  is  the  fulfillment  of  all  our  duties  on  earth; 
and  the  neglect  of  these  can  only  be  retrieved  to  some  extent  while 
man  is  well  and  active,  but  never  on  a  sick-bed  at  the  approach  of 
death.  Our  forefathers  were  wiser  in  this  respect  than  we.  One 
proof  of  this  is  that  they  generally  disposed  of  their  property  while 
still  in  health.  Not  only  were  wife  and  children  remembered,  but 
also  servants,  institutions,  the  poor,  and  every  thing  which  the  dic- 
tates  of  humanity,  as  well  as  religion,  had  inspired  in  their  hearts. 
In  our  days  it  is  not  so.  Death  is  allowed  to  surprise  many,  and 
they  are  unable  to  do  what  they  intended  for  their  family  and  fellow- 
men.  We  often  hear  people  say,  '  If  father  or  mother  had  disposed  of 
this  or  the  other  matter,  we  should  have  been  spared  much  care  and 
vexation.'  It  is  but  a  shallow  excuse  that  the  departed  ones  were  so 
occupied  with  spiritual  things  that  worldly  ones  were  forgotten." 

"I  have  known  people,"  said  Christopher,  "who,  unsolicited,  have 
promised  to  take  charge  of  children  soon  to  become  orphans.  I  have 
also  Seen  this  sacred  duty  neglected.  To  understand  these  seeming 
contradictions,  we  must  assume  that  all  men  have  moments  in  which 
they  make  good  resolutions;  but,  unless  a  man  is  thoroughly  firm  and 
honest,  these  good  resolutions  are  transitory  as  the  light  of  the  sun, 
when  it  rises  in  the  splendor  of  the  morning,  while  the  sky,  with  the 
exception  of  a  narrow  strip  along  the  horizon,  is  covered  with  rain 
clouds.     These  clouds  approach  from  all  sides ;  the  sunlight  is  extin- 


144  PESTALOZZI. 

guished ;  the  whole  heavens  become  gray,  and  the  finer  the  illuraina- 
tion,  the  more  will  the  rain  fall." 

It  will  be  Seen  that  the  works  of  Pestalozzi,  w^hich  we  have  men- 
tioned,  are  mostly  of  a  miscellaneous  character,  and  only  incidentally 
treat  of  education.  The  only  work  of  a  strictly  educational  character 
which  he  found  time  to  prepare,  is  *'How  Gertrude  Teaches  her  Chil- 
dren."  From  this  we  niake  copious  extracts  in  that  part  of  our  work 
which  treats  of  the  principles  and  methods  involved  in  the  reform. 

Among  his  writings  are  some  volumes  chiefly  devoted  to  an  exposi- 
tion  of  the  character  of  his  school,  and  to  the  polemic  warfare  which 
was  carried  on  at  that  time.  These  are  of  little  interest,  except  as 
giving  facts  and  details  of  a  strictly  local  character. 

His  last  works,  "The  Song  of  a  Dying  Swan,"  and  "Events  of 
my  life,"  which  reflected  upon  all  his  old  associates,  must  be  regarded 
as  the  production  of  a  man  of  intense  emotional  nature,  suffering 
keenly  from  misfortune  and  failures,  which  might  have  been  avoided 
had  he  possessed  the  power  of  discerning  the  causes  of  these  evils.  It, 
however,  is  a  consolation  to  know  that  Pestalozzi  in  part  recovered 
from  his  delusion,  and  repented  of  his  hasty  and  ill-advised  action. 
A  short  time  before  his  death,  he  made  to  Nabholz,  one  of  his  most 
trusty  and  faithful  teachers,  this  important  declaration : 

"The  work,  'Events  of  my  Life,'  was  written  in  a  state  of  mind 
bordering  on  insanity,  and  therefore  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  take 
a  correct  view  of  things.  By  circumstances  and  the  influence  of  those 
around  me,  I  was  compelled  to  make  assertions,  which,  upon  calm 
consideration,  I  find  myself  obliged  to  retract  as  opinions  not  my  own, 
but  forced  upon  me  against  my  convictions.  This  is  particularly  a2> 
plicable  to  those  passages  in  which  I  reject,  as  untenable  and  not 
founded  on  my  own  views,  the  method  formerly  established  and  pub- 
licly  advocated  by  me.  I  intend  to  avail  myself  of  the  first  oppor- 
tunity  to  make  a  public  declaration  to  this  effect ;  but  if  I  should  die 
before  having  done  so,  I  beg  you  to  do  it  in  my  name,  and  expressly 
State  that  I  have  commissioned  you  to  do  so." 

We  lay  greater  stress  upon  this  declaration  from  the  fact  that  some 
reviewers  have  quoted  largely  from  these  w^orks  as  showing  that  Pes- 
talozzi himself  repudiated  the  principles  upon  which  his  school  was 
founded.  From  these  facts  the  reader  can  readily  determine  how 
much  consideration  should  be  given  to  the  works  in  question  —  works 
which  Pestalozzi  himself  declared  were  the  effects  of  the  lowering 
clouds  which  were  spread  around  the  horizon  behind  which  the  sun 
of  his  life  was  about  to  set. 


ADDRESSES.  145 

His  Cliristmas  and  New-year's  addresses  contain  much  of  his  ciar- 
acteristic  fervor  of  style  and  exuberance  of  fancy.  We  select  the 
following  from  one  of  these  addresses,  some  passages  of  which  seem 
to  give  a  pleasant  farewell  to  the  scene  of  his  labors.  We  have 
slightly  Condensed  some  portions  of  it,  otherwise  it  remains  un- 
changed : 

"You,  my  little  children,  whom  we  love  almost  as  Jacob  did  his 
Benjamin  and  Joseph,  what  shall  I  wish  for  you?  Live  in  innocence 
and  love ;  maintain  your  cheerfulness ;  live  happily  in  nature's  arms, 
and  keep  your  eyes  open  to  her  impressions;  imbibe  her  charms  in 
fulf  draiights,  whether  they  are  fluttering  in  the  shape  of  a  butterfly 
over  your  head,  or  lying  before  you,  a  brilliant  stone,  or  growing,  a 
lovely  flower.  When  you  have  found  one  of  these  treasures  and  feel 
happy,  oh  then  think  of  your  father  and  mother,  \vho,  perhaps,  weep 
secret  tears,  because  they  can  no  more  witness  your  happy  smile.  In 
thinking  of  them,  a  tear  will,  perhaps,  fall  from  your  eyes,  because 
you  are  now  deprived  of  the  happiness  of  looking  into  their  faces. 
With  a  thankful  heart,  wish  them  a  good  year,  and  pray  to  your 
Father  in  Heaven,  who  is  also  the  Father  of  your  parents,  to  bless 
them,  and  make  you  good  and  pious  for  their  future  joy  and  conso- 
lation. 

''And  you,  older  children,  what  shall  the  new  year  be  to  you? 
You  are  more  conscious  of  the  meaning  of  life  than  these  little  ones ; 
you  begin  to  feel  its  purposes  and  duties ;  you  begin  to  understand  the 
mighty  words,  '  whatsoever  a  man  sows,  that  shall  he  reap ; '  you  do 
not  merely  see  nature's  form,  but  begin  to  see  God  in  nature.  Chil- 
dren, we  have  found  much  in  you  that  is  pure  and  noble.  We  have 
been  satisfied  with  you,  and  are  confident  that  your  exertions  have 
not  been  in  vain.  As  the  growing  fruit  smiles  upon  the  gardener  from 
the  tree,  so  does  the  fruit  of  your  labors  appear  in  your  contented 
faces.  We  can  read  it  in  your  animated  look ;  we  perceive  it  in  the 
blooming  appearance  of  your  cheeks ;  we  hear  it  in  your  sensible  re- 
marks.  But,  my  children,  lovely  ones,  appearance  is  deceptive  and 
passes  away ;  it  is  only  the  soul  that  lasts.  Seek  perfection  in  what 
is  eternal  and  imperishable.  Children,  the  world  is  evil,  and  our 
house  is  a  little  world.  Fear  God,  and  beware  of  all  wicked  doings.' 
Be  children  of  God  in  love,  fear,  obedience,  and  gratitude." 

"  Daughters  of  my  house,  I  do  not  exhort  you  to  show  grace  and 
loveliness,  since  nature  has  supplied  your  sex  with  these ;  but  this  I 
entreat  you,  show  power  in  your  grace.  O  my  daughters,  think  not 
too  much  of  yourselves,  and  distrust  somewhat  the  opinions  which 
others  profess  to  have  of  you.  Have  faith  first  in  God,  in  order  that 
P.  10. 


146  PESTALOZZI. 

you  may  believe  in  yourselves,  and  that  you  may  educate  others  in 
that  faith.  The  world  needs  educators.  If  mothers  do  not  care  for 
the  moral  weal  of  their  children,  what  will  become  of  them  ?  Lend 
US  your  aid  in  the  attainment  of  an  improved  domestic  education,  in 
Order  that  you  may  become  fit  instruments  of  God,  a  blessing  to  your- 
selves and  to  the  circle  in  which  you  live." 

We  pass  over  the  equally  impressive  addresses  to  the  young  men 
and  teachers  of  his  house,  to  his  oldest  associates  and  to  his  faithful 
wife,  and  content  ourselves  with  quoting  his  general  remarks  addressed 
to  the  whole  assembly. 

"  When  I  close  my  eyes,  my  last  words  to  you  will  be  these :  Do 
not  deceive  yourselves  about  the  height  of  the  mountain  you  have  to 
ascend;  it  is  much  higher  than  you  suppose.  On  reaching  one  alti- 
tude  you  stand  at  the  foot  of  others ;  yet,  if  you  pause,  you  will  lose 
your  strength  and  be  dlsabled  for  climbing  farther. 

"  Whosoever  among  you  is  strong,  oh,  let  him  help  the  weak;  but 
whosoever  is  weak,  let  him  not  despair,  for  God  is  powerful  to  the 
weak.  He  does  not  regard  strength :  he  regards  the  will.  If  this 
were  not  true,  I  should  not  stand  before  you,  nor  would  our  work 
exist.     But  what  is  our  work? 

*'Like  a  river  falling  from  the  mountains,  our  work  takes  often  an 
arbitrary  direction:  we  at  its  source,  sometimes  hardly  know  whither 
its  current  tends.  If  the  work  of  man,  it  Stands  still  before  the  ob- 
stacles  of  opposing  rocks ;  but  if  the  work  of  God,  it  pierces  triumph- 
antly  the  stony  masses,  and  appears  again  with  waters  purified  by 
the  struggle.  But,  my  beloved  friends,  the  stream  is  not  ours :  ours 
are  but  the  drops  falling  from  the  clifTs.  That  these  drops  are  not 
dried  up,  that  they  are  able  to  pierce  the  clefts,  and  reach  that  depth 
where  God's  waters  roll  in  majestic  power,  is  God's  work.  May  this 
new  year  behold  us  floating  peacefully  on  the  gentle  waves  toward 
our  great  aim.  When  I  cast  my  eyes  on  the  circle  around  me,  what 
duties  do  I  feel  imposed  upon  me !  O  Father,  Thou  hast  placed  me 
on  a  mountain  which  I  did  not  ascend  myself.  Thou  hast  assigned 
to  me  a  place  which  I  am  not  worthy  to  occupy.  As  a  steward  man- 
ages  the  house  of  his  employer,  so  will  I  work  for  my  Master  during 
the  remainder  of  my  life.  O  my  beloved  ones,  live  in  harmony  and 
love.  Under  your  protecting  shelter  let  me  take  my  last  tottering 
Steps  to  that  rest  for  which  I  long ;  for  my  soul  is  weary,  my  body 
craves  slumber,  and  my  head  the  pillow  from  which  it  will  rise  no 
more.     Amen." 

We  will  close  this  part  of  our  work  by  quoting  from  the  address 


ADDRESSES.  147 

which  he  made  at  the  Inauguration  of  the  Poor  School,  that  was 
founded  with  the  money  raised  by  subscription  to  his  works: 

"  This  solemn  day,  in  which  I  arrange  and  settle  my  worldly 
affairs  before  passing  through  the  Valley  of  death  to  the  regions  of 
life  and  resurrection ;  this  day,  when  I  intend  to  ereet  a  monument 
to  the  glory  of  God  for  purposes  of  love  and  faith,  I  come  before 
you  and  pray:  Oh,  do  not  regard  me  in  the  nothingness  of  human 
weakness,  as  a  crushed  reed  or  a  feeble  glimmering  wick,  but  receive 
my  words  as  if  spoken  after  my  resurrection  from  the  grave. 

But  I  tremble ;  dare  I  pro- 

nounce  such  words,  unless  I  have  seen  the  face  of  the  Lord !  Oh,  no ! 
My  address  to  you  bears  the  impress  of  the  flesh  and  of  human 
nature,  which,  though  füll  of  good-will,  is  ever  wandering  through 
labyrinths  of  wrong  and  error ;  yet,  I  pray  you,  listen  with  attention 
and  confidence  to  my  words.  Accept  them  as  the  words  of  your 
father,  who  is  approaching  the  grave,  and  who  has  deeply  feit  the 
misery  of  the  poor,  especially  of  that  portion  which  can  be  relieved 
by  the  blessings  of  education.  Alas!  it  is  only  near  the  end  of  my 
life  that  I  am  enabled  to  give  a  mite  for  this  purpose,  and  to  leave 
its  execution  as  a  legacy  to  you.  Let  my  care  for  the  sanctity  of 
education  devolve  on  you.  May  you  be  filled  by  the  thought  of  a 
better  future,  which  is  to  bless  coming  generations ;  be  witness  of  the 
spirit  which  animated  my  youth,  and  which  continues  to  glow  even 
in  my  old  age.  Let  every  harsh  and  unkind  feeling  be  banished 
from  your  hearts,  through  the  power  of  faith  and  love.  Let  no  one 
say :  Christ  does  not  love  him  who  has  done  wrong.  He  loves  him 
with  divine  love.  He  died  for  him.  He  did  not  find  the  sinner  faith- 
ful,  but  he  made  him  so  by  his  own  faith ;  he  did  not  find  him  hum- 
ble,  but  he  made  him  so  by  his  own  humility.  Friends,  if  we  love  one 
another  as  Christ  loved  us,  we  shall  conquer  all  difiiculties,  and  found 
our  house  on  the  eternal  rock  on  which,  through  Jesus  Christ,  God 
has  placed  the  welfare  of  the  human  race." 


PART    IV. 


PRINCIPLES  AND  METHOD 


OF  PESTALOZZI. 


N  1  \  KKJSITY   OF 

CALIFOKNIA. 


CHAPTER    I. 

GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  PESTALOZZIAN  METHOD. 

TO  State  clearly  the  principal  features  of  the  method  of  Pestalozzi 
is  no  easy  task.  The  difficulties  encountered  arise,  in  part,  from 
the  scientific  nature  of  the  subject,  and,  in  part,  from  the  compHcated 
character  which  the  work  has  assumed  at  the  present  day.  The  crit- 
icism  of  an  educational  method  is  very  difierent  from  that  of  a  phil- 
osophical  System ;  since  the  latter  has  a  stereotyped  outline,  given  it 
by  the  words  of  the  book,  while  the  former  is  a  living  organism, 
with  all  the  features  which  the  spirit  of  the  times  and  the  experience 
of  half  a  Century  have  impressed  upon  it.  Under  these  circum- 
stances,  the  first  dnty  js  tr>  stntp^e  originaJLlIltiP^^^^^^-^^-  p^""  n£.^f.g. 
founder_and  tlie  re^^ults  of  his  initial  experiments 

The  work,  "  How  Gertrude  Teaches  Her  Children,"  in  which  Pes- 
talozzi embodies  his  own  ideas  of  education,  will  supply  the  principal 
quotations  of  this  chapter.  The  reader,  from  the  character  and  pecul- 
iarities  of  Pestalozzi,  will  not  expect  to  find  in  this  work  a  mature 
System,  expressed  in  concise,  elegant,  and  symmetrical  language ;  but 
rather  the  eflfusions  of  a  thinking  philanthropist  deeply  absorbed  in 
his  experiraents,  and  "  bearing  within  himself  an  unborn  universe," 
of  whose  untrodden  shores  he  tries  to  give  an  intelligent  account. 
When  he  looked  at  the  moral,  intellectual,  and  religious  condition  of 
the  people  of  Europe,  and  at  their  means  of  instruction,  he  found  a 
State  of  things  which  he  not  inaptly  describes  in  the  following 
simile : 

"As  far  as  I  am  acquainted  with  populär  instruction,  it  appears  to 
me  like  a  large  house,  whose  uppermost  story  shines  in  the  splendor 
of  highly  finished  art,  but  is  occupied  by  only  a  few.  In  the  middle 
story  is  a  great  crowd,  but  the  stairs  by  which  the  upper  one  may  be 
reached  in  an  approved  and  respectable  manner  are  wanting;  if  the 
attempt  be  made  in  a  less  regulär  way,  the  leg  or  arm  used  as  a 
means  of  progress  may  be  broken.  In  the  lowest  story  is  an  im- 
mense throng  of  people,  who  have  precisely  the  same  right  to  enjoy 

(151) 


152  PESTALOZZI. 

the  light  of  the  sun  as  those  in  the  upper  one ;  but  they  are  left  in 
utter  darkness,  and  not  eveu  allowed  to  gaze  at  the  magnificence 
above.         . 

"Europe,  on  the  one  hand,  Stands  higher  than  any  other  part  of 
the  World;  but,  on  the  other,  no  land  has  descended  to  lower  depths. 
Like  the  image  described  by  the  prophet,  it  reaches  to  the  sky  with  its 
golden  head  of  arts  and  sciences ;  but  its  foundation,  which  should  be  , 
Dppular  instruction,  like  the  feet  of  the  same  image,  is  but  miry  clay," 
'  Pestalozzi,  in  his  holy  Indignation,  rejected  as  an  empty  mockery, 
the  superficial  book-knowledge  which,  up  to  that  time,  the  most 
enlightened  had  made  the  basis  of  education.  He  says :  *'A  man 
who  has  only  word-wisdom  is  less  susceptible  to  truth  than  a  savage.  , 
This  use  of  mere  words  produces  men  who  believe  they  have  reached' 
"the  goal,  because  their  whole  life  has  been  spent  in  talking  about 
it,  but  who  never  ran  toward  it,  because  no  motive  impelled  them 
to  make  the  effort;  hence,  I  come  to  the  conviction  that  the  fun- 
damental error  —  the  blind  use  of  words  in  matters  of  instruction  — 
must  be  extirpated  before  it  is  possible  to  resuscitate  life  and 
truth." 

With  these  views  of  the  state  of  education,  is  it  stränge  that  Pesta- 
lozzi should  have  earnestly  sought  a  remedy  for  these  evils,  and 
should  have  endeavored  —  to  use  his  own  expression  —  *'to  wheel  the 
educational  car  of  Europe  upon  another  track  "  ?  And  where  could 
this  track  be  found  except  where  the  foot-prints  of  the  Creator  are 
clearly  seen  in  the  light  of  eternal  laws  and  principles. 

With  an  impetuosity  characteristic  of  his  strong  feelings,  he  makes 
frequent  appeals  to  mothers,  the  natural  teachers  of  childhood, —  ap- 
peals  not  unmixed  with  indignation  against  those   who  sneer  at  his  ^ 
faith  in  human  nature  and  the  sanctity  of  home.     He  says :   ''  It  is  / 
the  main  design  of  my  method  to  make  home  instruction  again  possi-  f 
ble  to  our  neglected  people,  and  to  induce  every  mother  whose  heartli 
beats  for  her  child,  to  make  use  of  my  elementary  exercises.     To  do  / 
this,  she  must  be  in  advance  of  the  child.     My  heart  is  lifted  up  by 
the  blessed  hopes  which  spring  from  this  idea.     When  I  first  ex- 
pressed these  hopes,  I  was  answered  from  all  sides,  '  The  mothers  will 
not  approve.'     Not  only  uneducated  men,  but  those  who  teach  — who 
teach  Christianity  —  said  to  me  scoffingly :   '  You  may  search  all  our~ 
villages  through,  but  you  will  find  no  mother  who  will  do  what  you 
require  of  her.'     To  this  I  answered:   'Then  I  will,  by  these  means, 
enable  heathen  mothers  from  the  farthest  north  to  do  it.         ... 

If  these  men  dare  wash   their 

hands  of  the  blame,  and  say,   'We  are  guiltless  of  this  inexpressible 


GENERAL   VIEW    OF   THE   PESTALOZZIAN    METHOD.        153 

shame  of  the  people  in  peaceful  Europe  ;  \ve  are  guiltless  of  this  un- 
speakable  disgrace  of  the  best-natured,  most  teachable,  and  patient 
of  all  European  nations,  the  Swiss;  we  and  our  fathers  have  done 
what  it  was  our  duty  to  do,  to  prevent  this  decay  of  the  first  founda- 
tions  of  morality  in  our  father-land,'  —  then  will  I  advise  them  to  cry 
out  to  these  unnatural  mothers,  in  the  spirit  of  Christ's  appeal  to  Je- 
rusalem, Mothers,  mothers !  hovv  often  have  we  wished  to  gather  you 
under  the  shelter  of  wisdom,  humanity,  and  Christianity,  as  a  hen 
gathers  her  chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not !  If  these 
men  dare  not  make  this  assertion,  then  will  I  not  believe  in  them, 
but  in  the  mothers,  and  in  the  hearts  which  God  has  given  them; 
and  I  will  go  my  way  like  a  Wanderer,  who,  in  a  distant  forest,  hears 
a  wind  whose  breath  he  does  not  feel." 

We  quote  the  above  passage  in  füll  to  show  a  peculiarity  often 
observed  among  enthusiasts,  that,  while  they  may  be  entirely  right 
in  regard  to  a  principle,  they  often  mistake  the  order  of  time  and 
nature  in  the  realization  of  their  aspirations.  That  the  child  begins 
to  learn  with  his  birth,  and  that  the  mother  is  his  natural  educator, 
do  not  admit  of  a  doubt ;  but  it  must  also  be  conceded,  that  for  an 
intelligent  and  effective  system  of  .education,  the  mother,  as  well  as! 
the  teacher,  must  be  trained  for  her  speöial  .work.  The  rightly  edu-\ 
cated  child  is  the  Coming  father  and  mother. 

At  a  time  when  home  education  is  in  danger  of  being  more  and 
more  disregarded,  when  but  little.moral  instruction  or  firmness  is  ex- 
hibited  to  counteract  the  increased  inducements  to  excesses  of  all 
kinds,  it  seems  but  an  act  of  justice  to  vindicate  Pestalozzi  from  the 
accusation  of  striving  to  cultivate  the  intellectual  faculties  only,  and 
to  show  that  he  based  the  success  of  his  method,  and  eyen  of  moral 
and  religious  life,  upon  the  firm  rock  of  sound  domestic  education, 

We  wish  also  to  say  a  word  in  regard  to  the  spirit  in  which  the 
writings  of  Pestalozzi  should  be  interpreted.  Learned  scholars,  who 
at  first  were  disposed  to  question  the  ability  and  reprove  the  bold- 
ness  of  a  partially  educated  man  who  dared  to  enter  upon  abstruse 
philosophical  discussions,  have  been  disarmed  and  partly  converted 
by  the  nobility  of  the  thoughts  uttered,  and  the  real  humility  of  the 
man  who  expressed  them.  .  The  magnitude  of  the  work,  and  the 
terrible  need  of  the  suffering  poor,  were  the  motives  which  urged 
him  to  write.  Though  often  crude  in  expression,  his  writings  all 
cantain  precious  germs  of  thought: 

"  What  I  desired,  and  still  desire,  is  not  to  teach  the  world  any 
new  art  or  science,  for  I  know  none ;  but  to  make  it  more  easy  for 
the   people    to    master    the  beginnings  of  all   arts  and  sciences;    to 


154  PESTALOZZI. 

develop  the  powers  of  the  poor  and  weak,  who  are  now  neglected  and 
given  iip  to  desolation ;  to  open  the  avenues  of  learning,  which  are 
the  approaches  to  humanity ;  and,  if  possible,  to  burn  down  the  bar- 
riers  which  keep  the  more  lowly  of  the  Citizens  of  Europe  far  behind 
the  barbarians  of  the  North  and  South  in  independent  intellectual 
power,  which  is  the  basis  of  all  efficient  acquirement.  They  are  kept 
so,  because,  notwithstanding  our  empty  boasting  of  universal  enlight- 
enment,  nine  men  in  ten  are  deprived  of  the  right  of  all  men,  the 
right  of  Instruction  ;  or,  at  least,  the  possibility  of  using  it.  May 
these  barriers,  after  my  death,  burn  with  a  bright  flame!  I  know 
that  I  am  only  a  feeble  coal  lying  in  wet  straw ;  but  I  hear  a  wind 
not  far  off,  w^hich  shall  fan  the  coal  to  a  blaze.  The  wet-  straw 
around  me  will  gradually  dry,  grow  warm,  kindle,  and  at  last  burn. 
Yes,  however  wet  it  is  around  me,  it  will  burn,  it  will  burn ! 

*'The  highest  attainments  can  only  be  reached  by  means.of  a 
ßnished  art  of  teaching,  and  the  most  perfect  psychology ;  thus  secur- 
ing  the  utmost  perfection  in  the  mechanism  of  the  natural  progression 
from  confused  impressions  to  intelligent  ideas.  This  is  in  truth  far 
beyond  my  powers. 

''The  Egyptian  who  lirst  fastened  a  shovel  with  a  crooked  handle 
to  the  hörn  of  an  ox,  and  thus  taught  him  to  perform  the  labor  of 
a  man,  prepared  the  w^ay  for  the  invention  of  the  plow,  although  he 
did  not  bring  it  to  perfection.  My  Services  are  only  the  first  bending 
of  the  shovel  handle,  and  the  fastening  of  it  to  a  new  hörn.  But 
why  do  I  speak  in  similes?  I  ought  to  State  my  meaning  plainly, 
and  will  do  so.- 

"  I  desire  to  remove  the  imperfections  from  common  school  Instruc- 
tion ;  to  knit  it  to  the  immovable  power  of  nature  herseif,  to  the 
light  which  God  kindles  and  ever  maintains  in  the  hearts  of  fathers 
and  mothers,  and  to  the  desires  of  parents  that  their  children  may  be 
respectable  before  God  and  man." 

In  the  following  extracts  Pestalozzi  sets  forth,  with  great  power 
and  earnestness,  the  faults  and  short-comings  of  the  school  Systems 
prevalent  in  his  day.  It  will  be  seen  that  in  this,  as  in  all  his  work, 
he  is  moved  by  a  profound  Indignation  against  the  unnatural  and 
unphilosophical  processes  pursued. 

"  Children  are  left  tili  their  fifth  year  in  the  füll  enjoyment  of 
nature.  They  are  allowed  to  imbibe  its  cheerful  influence  through 
every  pore.  After  having  thus  tasted  this  bliss  of  sensuous  life,  the 
fair  scene  of  their  pleasures  at  once  vanishes  from  their  eyes.  They 
are  thrown  into  badly  ventilated  rooms;  they  are  doomed  for  hours, 
days,   and  years    to  the   contemplation  of  dry,   monotonous  letters. 


GENERAL   VIEW    OF   THE    PESTALOZZIAN    METHOD.        155 

Friend,  teil  me,  can  the  blow  of  the  executioner,  which  transfers 
the  criminal  from  life  to  death,  have  a  greater  influence  on  the  body 
than  such  a  transition  from  the  pleasant  teachings  of  nature  to  the 
miserable  discipline  of  our  schools  ?  Will  men  remain  blind  forever  ? 
Will  they  never  look  to  those  primitive  sources  from  which  the  con- 
fusion  of  minds,  the  destruction  of  innocence,  the  ruin  of  strength, 
and  all  the  consequences  thereof  arise,  and  which  doom  many  of  us 
to  an  unsatisfactory  existence,  and  thousands  of  others  to  a  premature 
death,  or  to  the  abode  of  the  raving  maniac?" 

The  remedy  for  the  evils  so  vividly  pointed  out  is  found  in  a  Sys- 
tem of  education  which  recognizes  as  its  object  the  development  of 
the  faculties  of  the  mind  in  the  order  of  their  growth  and  use,  and 
the  adaptation  of  Instruction  to  this  particular  end. 

Pestalozzi  says:  "  My  experiments  led  rae  to  trace  the  various 
branches  of  Instruction  to  their  very  Clements.  I  endeavored  to  find 
out  the  exact  time  of  life  when  Instruction  should  begin,  and  I  soon 
arrived  at  the  conviction  that  it  is  the  hour  of  birth.  The  first  tutor 
is  nature,  and  her  tuition  begins  from  the  moment  that  the  child's 
senses  are  opened  to  the  impressions  of  the  surrounding  world.  The 
feeling  of  novelty  with  which  life  surprises  the  infant,  is  in  itself 
nothing  but  the  unfolding  of  the  capability  of  receiving  these  impres- 
sions. It  is  the  arousing  of  the  germs  of  mental  power.  The  animal 
is  entirely  formed,  and  something  above  the  animal  is  awakened, 
which,  while  it  clearly  testifies  to  the  destination  of  the  new-born 
being,  gives  him,  at  the  same  time,  a  positive  Impulse  toward  the 
attain ment  of  that  purpose. 

"  Whatever,  therefore,  man  may  attempt  to  do  by  his  tuition,  he 
can  do  no  more  than  assist  in  the  effort  which  the  child  makes  for 
his  own  development.  To  do  this  so  that  the  impressions  made 
upon  him  may  always  be  commensurate  to  the  growth  and  character 
of  the  faculties  already  unfolded,  and,  at  the  same  time,  in  harmony 
with  them,  is  the  great  secret  of  education. 

*'The  knowledge  to  which  the  child  is  to  be  led  by  instruction, ' 
must,  therefore,  necessarily  be  subjected  to  a  certain  order  of  succes- 
sion,  the  beginning  of  which  must  be  adapted  to  the  first  unfolding 
of  his  powers,  and  the  progress  kept  exactly  parallel  to  that  of  his 
development. 

"I  soon  perceived  that  the  simpl^st  and  only  way  to  impart  in- 
struction,  or  to  frame  really  instructive  school-books,  is  to  discover 
this  Order  throughout  the  ränge  of  human  knowledge,  and  especially 
in  all  those  essentials  in  which  the  human  mind  takes  its  beginning. 
I  saw   clearly  that  the  child   may  be  brought  to  a  high  degree  of 


i 

156  PESTALOZZI. 

knowledge,  both  of  things  and  language,  before  it  would  be  rational 
to  teach  him  reading  or  spelling.  .Seeing  this,  I  feit  the  necessity  of 
presenting  things  to  children,  from  earliest  infancy,  in  a  manner  cal- 
culated  to  draw  fortli  the  action  of  their  different  faculties." 

Thus  far  no  philoso2:)her  would  object  to  Pestalozzi's  conclusions 
and  Statements.  Their  very  enunciation  seems  to  command  assent; 
and  yet,  in  practice,  they  are  generally  ignored  or  violated.  The 
necessity  of  obtaining  knowledge  through  experience,  that  j^roper 
/mental  development  may  be  secured,  is  stated  in  the  following : 
'  ''Instruction  without  the  assistance  of  art  does  no  more  for  us' 
than  nature  herseif;  and  the  only  advantage  we  derive  from  art  is, 
that  it  accelerates  the  progress  of  nature,  thus  enabling  the  individ- 
ual  to  keej)  pace  with  civilization.  Nature,  in  her  advance  toward 
development,  invariably  follows  the  important  laAV,  that  the  degree 
of  clearness  of  our  knowledge  depends  on  the  greater  or  less  distance 
of  the  objects  which  we  perceive.  Every  thing  in  the  surrounding 
World  appears  confused  in  proportion  as  it  is  distant  from  us;  what- 
ever,  on  the  contrary,  is  near,  appears  more  distinct.  As  far  as  I 
am  an  inhabitant  of  this  world,  my  five  senses  are  myself;  and 
therefore  the  clearness  or  obscurity  of  my  ideas  must  depend  on  the 
distance  from  which  each  Impression  reaches  these  senses.  I  my- 
self, as  the  center  of  all  my  perceptions,  become  the  object  of  my 
perceptive  faculties.v  Whatever  I  am  in  myself,  I  can  feel  and  un- 
derstand  better  than  what  is  outside  of  myself;  for  the  former  are 
always  clear  and  distinct,  while  the  latter  are  often  confused:  con- 
sequently,  the  course  of  my  knowledge  concerning  myself  is  one  step 
shorter  than  that  which  I  acquire  concerning  other  objects.  What- 
ever I  know  concerning  myself  is  a  matter  of  distinct  consciousness ; 
moreover,  what  I  truly  know  is  part  of  myself,  as  it  is  included 
in  the  knowledge  I  have  of  myself:  hence  it  follows,  that  I  am  the 
point  from  which  I  must  set  out  for  the  acquisition  of  clear  and  dis- 
tinct ideas.  Of  all  things,  nothing  can  be  clearer  than  the  principle 
that  all  man's  knowledge  of  truth  is  founded  upon  his  knowledge  o^ 
himself" 

Next,  we  have  the  account  of  the  process  by  which  Pestalozzi  ar- 
rived  at  his  conclusions  concerning  the  Classification  of  the  sciences 
in  their  relation  to  the  work  of  primary  Instruction.  '*It  occurred 
to  me  upon  one  occasion  to  concentrate  my  attention  upon  the  man- 
ner in  w^iich  a  man,  w^hose  mind  is  already  cultivated,  must  proceed 
in  Order  to  analyze  properly  and  to  comprehend  the  objects  that  come 
before  him  in  confusion.  The  result  of  my  inquiry  is,  that  the 
attention  must  be  directed  to  the  following  points : 


GENERAL   VIEW    OF    THE    PESTALOZZIAN    METHOD.        157 

'^  First. — How  many  objects  and  how  many  kinds  has  he  before 
him? 

^' Second. — What  is  their  appearancfe,  their  shape,  their  outline? 

"  TJiird.- — What  are  their  names?  In  what  manner  may  each  be 
represented  by  a  sound  or  word? 

"To  succeed  in  this  examination  he  must  have  the  power  — 

"First. — To  view  dissimilar  objects  in  regard  to  their  shape,  and 
to  form  an  idea  of  what  is  contained  in  each. 

^' Second.  —  To  distinguish  these  objects  either  in  the  plurality  in 
which  they  exist,  or  in  the  unity  which  is  given  to  them  in  the 
mind. 

"  Third. — To  designate,  as  early  as  possible,  by  corresponding 
names,  all  the  objects  which  have  thus  come   to  their  knowledge. 

"Hence,  I  concluded  that  Form,  Number,  and  Language,  when  ^ 
brought  into  connection  with  each  other,  are  the  elements  of  Instruc- 
tion; inasmuch   as   the  external  properties  of  objects  are   contained 
within  the  sphere  of  their  outline  and  numerical  proportions,  and  are  , 
brought  distinctly  to  our  consciousness  by  language.     It  is,  therefore, 
a  fundamental  laAV  that   all  Instruction  is  founded  on  this  threefoldx 
basis. 

"  It  follows  that  the  object  of  our  first  instruction  must  be  to  de- 
velop,  in  a  manner  most  conformable  to  nature,  the  subjects  Form, 
Number,  and  Language ;  for  a  healthy  cultivation  of  the  faculties 
requires  that  the  means  by  which  they  are  developed  should  be 
brought  to  the  utmost  simplicity  and  to  perfect  harmony  with  each 
other. 

''The  only  doubt  that  occurred  to  my  mind  after  I  had  made  this 
discovery  was,  how  is  it  that  the  other  properties  of  things  of  which 
our  five  senses  apprise  us  do  not  constitute  elementary  ideas  of  knowl- 
edge as  well  as  these  three,  number,  form,  and  name?  I  soon  found 
that  these  belong  universally  to  all  objects,  whereas  other  properties 
are  not  common  to  all,  but  varj,  and  hence  can  not  be  considered 
fundamental  points  of  knowdedge." 

From  further  details  given  in  this  connection,  it  appears  that  Pes-  - 
talozzi  assigned  to  Form  the  subjects  Drawing,  Writing,  and  Geom- 
etry;  to  Number,  Arithmetic  in  all  it  departments;  and  to  Lan- 
guage, Speaking,  Reading,  Singing,  and  all  the  possible  exercises  of 
the  Organs  of  speech  by  which  sound  is  produced.  Educators  will 
generally  concede  the  correctness  of  these  deductions. 

In  his  next  step,  however,  Pestalozzi  has  committed  grave  errors. 
One  of  these  consists  in  placing  under  Language,  besides  the  branches  ^ 
named  above,  Geography,  History,  and  Natural  Science.     He  does 


158  PESTALOZZI. 

this  because  these  subjects  are  presented  through  the  medium  of  Lan- 
guage.  By  the  same  process  of  reasoning,  Form,  Number,  and 
every  possible  department  of  thought  might  be  placed  under  the 
same  head. 

Another  error  is,  to  consider  the  iiame  a  property  of  objeCts; 
smce  it  is  evident  that  objects  exist  before  they  are  named,  and  that 
it  is  possible  to  form  an  idea  of  them  without  knowing  the  word  by 
ji^ich  the  idea^is  to  be  expressed. 
/  Again,  Pestalozzi  assigns  as  a  reason  for  his  threefold  basis  for 
Instruction,  that  each  of  these  properties  belongs  to  all  objects ;  but 
it  is  not  quite  clear  why  he  should  not  have  assigned  an  equally 
important  place  to  color,  weight,  etc.,  which  also  belong  to  all 
objects;  or  in  what  part  of  his  Classification  these  qualities  would 
have  found  their  natural  place. 


CHAPTER    II. 

CONFOKMITY    OF    PESTALOZZI'S    METHOD    TO   THE   NATUEAL 
OEDER   OF  HUMAN    DEVELOPMENT. 

THE  fiiture  reviewer,  in  considering  the  System  of  Pestalozzi  from 
his  own  stand-point,  both  in  regard  to  science  and  the  human 
mind,  will  have,  on  account  of  his  broader  view  and  calmer  investi- 
gation,  an  advantage  over  Pestalozzi  or  any  of  the  writers  of  the 
present  era.  He  will  have  no  partisan  prejudices  from  having  actu- 
ally  engaged  in  the  strife,  and  will  be  guided  by  the  light  which 
comes  from  a  long  series  of  careful  and  critieal  experiments  and  in- 
vestigations. 

The  limits  of  this  work  forbid  an  attempt  at  this  thorough  review. 
Even  had  we  inclination  for  such  a  task,  the  time  is  not  yet  come 
when  it  could  be  successfully  accomplished.  The  experiments  are 
still  going  on.  The  conflict  between  the  old  and  the  new  is  still  rag- 
ing ;  and,  though  substantial  progress  has  been  made,  final  results  are 
not  yet  reached.  From  these  considerations,  we  shall  content  our- 
selves  with  giving  a  general  view  of  the  subject,  with  sufficient  appli- 
cation  in  detail  to  illustrate  and  exemplify  the  points  examined. 

To  present  Pestalozzis  idea  of  the  aims  and  office  of  education,  we 
again  quote  from  one  of  his  last  writings : 

"Sound  education  Stands  before  me  symbolized  by  a  tree  planted 
near  fertilizing  waters.  A  little  seed,  which  contains  the  design  of 
the  tree,  its  form  and  proportions,  is  placed  in  the  soil.  See  how  it 
germinates  and  expands  into  trunk,  jpranches,  leaves,  flowers,  and 
fruit!  The  whole  tree  is  an  uninterrupted  chain  of  organic  parts, 
the  plan  of  which  existed  in  its  seed  and  root.  Man  is  similar  to  the 
tree.  In  the  new-born  child  are  hidden  those  faculties,  which  are  to 
unfold  during  life.  The  individual  and  separate  organs  of  his  being 
form  themselves  gradually  into  unison,  and  build  up  humanity  in  the 
Image  of  God. 

"The  growth  of  man  is  God's  work,  and  the  result  of  universal 
laws  conferred  on  his  nature. 

"  The   education  of  man  is  a  purely  moral  result.     It  is  not  the 

(159) 


160  PESTALOZZI. 

educator  who  puts  new  powers  and  faculties  into  man,  and  imparts  to 
him  breath  and  life.  He  only  takes  care  that  no  imtoward  influenae 
shall  disturb  nature's  march  of  development.  The  moraf^ntellectual, 
and  executive  powers  of  man  must  be  nurtured  within  himself,  and 
not  from  artificial  Substitutes.  Thus,  faith  must  be  cultivated  by  our 
own  act  of  believing,  not  by  reasoning  about  faith ;  love,  by  our  own 
act  of  loving,  not  by  fine  words  about  love;  thought,  by  our  own 
act  of  thinking,  not  by  merely  appropriating  the  thoughts  of  other 
men ;  and  knowledge,  by  our  own  investigation,  not  by  endless  talk 
about  the  results  of  art  and  science." 

From  this  extract,  as  well  as  from  the  general  spirit  and  tendency 
of  Pestalozzi's  work,  we  think  that  the  one  great  fundamental  princi- 
ple  which  forms  the  basis  of  his  System  is  the  natural,  progressive,  and 
syminetrical  development  of  all  tJw  powers  and  faeulties  of  tJie  human  being. 

Many  truths,  closely  related  to  this  fundamental  principle,  can  in 
nowise  be  considered  as  discoveries  of  Pestalozzi.  Some  of  them 
may  be  more  ancient  than  the  oldest  of  human  records ;  some  have 
been  distinetly  enunciated  by  Socrates,  Plato,  and  others;  and  some 
have  been  given  to  the  world  by  the  profound  thinkers  of  the  Chris- 
tian era  —  by  those  who  have  lived  since  the  emancipation  of  the 
sciences  and  of  the  human  mind  from  the  thralldom  of  ancient  sophis- 
try,  book  learning,  and  the  rule  of  political  and  ecclesiastical  despot- 
ism.  They  should  be  kept  constantly  before  the  mind,  to  counteract 
the  tendency  of  Instruction  to  fall  into  thoughtless  routine. 

These  truths  are  of  a  twofold  nature :  first,  subjective,  considering 
the  mental  processes  themselves  ;  second,  objective,  referring  to  the 
facts  of  science  as  a  means  of  growth.  Their  value  does  not  depend 
upon  the  fact  that  they  can  be  traced  to  the  words  of  some  master ; 
but,  rather,  that  they  correspond  to  the  consciousness  of  the  human 
mind  and  to  the  facts  of  human  experience.  The  subjective  truths 
may  be  stated  as  foUows: 

All   human    growth    and  power  spring  from   inborn  capabilities.' 
Development,  or  the  unfolding  of  human  power,  comes  from  the  ac- 
quisition  of  knowledge ;   and,  to  produce  this  development,  the  Cle- 
ments of  knowledge  must  be  brought  into  contact  with  the  faculties 
of  the  mind. 

'  The  individuality  of  every  human  being  is  determined  at  birth,  as 
certainly  as  the  character  of  the  plant  is  marked  out  in  the  seed ; 
and  in  all  educational  processes  this  individuality  should  be  respected. 

As  the  secretion,  distribution,  and  assimilation  of  chemical  Clements 
from  the  great  laboratory  of  nature,  is  the  parent  of  all  organic 
growth,  so  is  experience  the  mother  of  all  wisdom ;  and  the  process 


HIS    METHOD.       ^>  /  > .  'f        161 

of  acquiring  it  should  be  so  regulated  tjiat  tliej  sttccessive^)fe»$  follow 
each  other  in  the  exact  order  of  dependeiice.  -  /Hd-ucation  ife  tjaus  r¥ 
analagous  to  the  development  of  organic  life,  where  eafch  Step  in'  //jl 
growth  depends  on  the  completeness  of  the  preceding  one. '  Hfnce,// 
the  true  work  of  education  must  be  a  work  of  art, — symmetrica/  I 
progressive,  based  lipon  natural  laws,  and  appHed  to  the  faculties  of  v 
the  mind.  \   . 

Faculties   of   the   Mind.  —  In  our  farther  examination  of  the       \y 
method   employed    for    mental    development,  we    shall    consider   the         ' 
mind  as   a  unit,   manifesting   itself  in  different   directions   and   for 
different    purposes,      To    each  of   these    distinct    manifestations    we 
shall  give  the  general  name  foAiulty.     In  speaking  of  these  faculties, 
we  shall  accept  the  name  and  Classification  in  most  general  iise. 

Knowledge  comes  to  us  from  without  and  from  within  —  through    , 
our  senses  and  through  our  consciousness.     The  faculty  which  takes    \ 
cognizance  of  the  former,   we    call  Perception ;    and  of  the  latter, 
Reflection.     The  faculty  which  retains  knowledge,  we  term  Memory ; 
and  this  includes  not  only  the  power  of  retaining  ideas,  but  also  of 
recalling  them.     That  faculty  which  enables  us  to  recombine  facts      J 
which  come  to  us   through   Sensation  or  consciousness,  we  term  Im-    /^ 
vagination.     That  faculty  which  guides  Imagination  to  proper  results, 
which  traces  cause  and  efiTect,  which  places  all  knowledge  in  the  order 
of  dependence,   and  which  discovers  relations  between  different  pro- 
cesses  of  thought,  we  denominate  Reason. 

Perception.  —  The  perceptive  faculty  is  the  first  one  aroused  into 
activity.  The  sensations  received  by  the  child  are  so  numerous  and 
varied  that  curiosity  is  stimulated ;  "which  indicates,"  says  Pesta- 
lozzi y  "that  a  desire  is  created  to  change  dim  perceptions  into  those 
which  are  clear  and  complete."  Children  manifest  this  curiosity  by 
the  ceaseless  activity  of  body  and  mind,  and  by  never-ending  q^ues- 
tions.  These  manifestations,  which  clearly  indicate  nature's  provision 
for  obtaining  knowledge,  are  the  very  ones  which  are  restrained,  re- 
pressed,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  prohibited  in  many  of  our  schools. 

The  mere  sight  of  an  object  does  not  satisfy  a  child.  He  must 
handle  it,  weigh  it,  smell  it,  taste  it,  and  examine  it  in  all  its  parts, 
in  Order  to  gain  a  complete  idea  of  it.  In  addition  to  this,  he  engages 
in  playing,  running,  shouting,  and  laughing,  each  of  which  is  an  ex- 
pression  of  a  feeling,  and  an  indication  of  the  healthful  condition  of 
both  body  and  mind.  He  turns  from  one  sport  to  another  with 
celerity ;  which  shows  that  variety  of  Impression  and  rapidity  of  ac- 
quirement  are  not  only  possible,  but  are  demanded  with  an  urgency 
that  can  not  be  resisted  with  impunity. 
P.  11. 


162  PESTALOZZI. 

A  feature  not  to  be  overlooked  in  the  sports  of  childhood  is  the 
intensity  of  the  attention  bestowed  upon  objects.  It  is  often  said 
that  children  will  take  in  the  contents  of  a  whole  scene  at  a  single 
glance,  including  details  which  an  adult  might  not  have  noticed. 
,This  is  but  partially  true.  The  eye  can  only  take  cognizance  of  that 
which  is  directly  in  the  ränge  of  its  axis,  and  it  obtains  a  knowledge 
of  adjoining  objects  only  by  changing  this.  The  quickness  with 
which  this  change  can  be  effected,  and  with  which  a  knowledge  of  a 
large  object  or  scene  may  be  obtained,  shows  the  rapidity  with  which 
the  mind  acts  when  it  is  aroused.  The  earnestness  of  attention 
which  a  child  bestows  upon  any  thing  which  he  sees  for  the  first 
time  shows  that  he  obtains  ideas  before  he  has  words  to  express 
them. 

When  children  arrive  at  school  age,  three  ways  are  presented  by 
which  their  education  may  be  conducted. 

First. — To  give  names  to  letters,  figures,  and  other  Symbols,  fol- 
lowed  by  definitions,  rules,  and  a  limited  number  of  facts,  most  of 
which  have  no  relation  to  those  already  known  to  the  child.  The 
whole  process  deals  in  ideas  which  have  not  come  within  the  child's 
experience,  and,  consequently,  are  not  his  own.  They  are  clothed  in 
words  not  in  common  nse,  the  meaning  of  which  is  frequently  en- 
V  tirely  unknown. 

'"-  Second. — To  allow  children  to  continue  for  a  time  in  school  the 
plays  which  they  have  learned  at  home,  thus  giving  vent  to  their 
natural  activity;  but  gradually  mingling  pleasant  Instruction  with 
the  play,  training  their  hands  to  make  beautiful  objects,  and  leading 
them  to  the  füll,  free  exercise  of  their  inventive  faculties. 
-  Third. — To  place  objects  before  them  in  which  they  are  interested, 
and  which  tend  to  cultivate  their  perceptive  faculties;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  lead  them  to  name  the  object,  to  describe  its  parts,  and 
to  State  the  relation  of  these  parts.  Thus  language  also  is  cultivated ; 
andjfrom  the  Observation  of  a  single  object,  the  pupil  is  led  to  com- 
pare  it  with  others,  and  the  first  steps  in  Classification  are  taken. 

The  first  of  these  methods  may  be  styled  the  old  rmthod;  or,  since 
it  is  largely  practiced  now,  the  icsual  method.  It  is  the  result  of 
habit,  thoughtlessness,  or  ignorance,  and  can  not,  for  a  moment,  stand 
the  test  of  philosophical  criticism. 

The  second  of  these  methods  is  known  as  the  Kindergarten  system. 
This  Word  literally  signifies  children's  garden,  but  means  a  pleasant 
place  where  children  are  educated.  The  Kindergarten  System  was 
originated,  after  the  time  of  Pestalozzi,  by  Fröbel,  an  eminent  Ger- 
man  educator,  and  is  rather  supplementary  than  antagonistic  to  Pes- 


HIS   METHOD.  163 

talozzi's  work.  Fröbel  takes  children  at  a  very  early  age,  and  pro 
poses  to  systematize  their  plays,  train  their  activities,  and,  in  some 
measure,  arrange  their  ideas  in  an  orderly  manner  before  the  com- 
mencement  of  school  life.  Pestalozzi  assigned  the  same  work  to  the 
mother,  as  a  part  of  necessary  home  education,  without,  however, 
considering  her  want  of  cultiire,  means,  or  time  for  its  accomplish- 
ment. 

The  third  is  the  method  which  has  more  directly  grown  out  of 
Pestalozzi's  work,  and  has  given  rise  to  what  are  known  as  Object 
Lessons.  These  lessons  are  designed  specially  to  cultivate  the  per- 
ceptive  faculty;  and  hence,  in  any  true  System  of  education,  they 
must  be  considered  as  fundamental  —  not  only  in  their  relation  to  the 
faculties,  but  as  giving  the  first  ideas,  or  laying  the  foundation  of  all 
branches  of  knowledge.  Object  Lessons  in  form  lead  directly  to 
Drawing,  Writing,  and  Geometry ;  in  sound  and  form,  to  Language, 
including  Keading,  Speaking,  and  Spelling;  in  place,  to  Geography; 
and  in  animals,  plants,  minerals,  etc.,  to  Natural  History.  Every 
branch  of  science  has  its  primary  course,  the  first  ideas  of  which  can 
best  be  derived  from  objects,  which  are  viewed  from  all  sides  and  in 
all  relations  accessible  to  perception,  so  that  distinct  ideas  may  be 
formed  both  for  present  use  and  as  the  basis  of  future  work. 

The  examination  of  natural  objects,  such  as  minerals,  plants,  shells, 
and  animals,  not  only  serves  to  awaken  the  Observation,  but  also 
afibrds  a  glimpse  of  the  laws  of  beauty  and  symmetry  manifest  in  all 
God's  works,  and  awakens  a  love  for  the  study  of  nature  in  all  her 
forms.  The  interest  thiis  excited  will  often  lead  to  the  collection  of 
specimens,  which,  in  their  turn,  stimulate  to  farther  investigations  — 
a  result  very  different  from  that  which  follows  when  the  study  is 
commenced  with  definitions  and  scientific  Classification. 

The  term  "Object  Lesson,"  or  "Object  Teaching,"  has  obtained  a 
signification  far  too  narrow  to  express  the  füll  meaning  of  the  process 
of  instruction  which  is  based  on  experience.  Objects  can  not  always 
be  procured,  and  they  are  by  no  means  indispensable.  A  model  or 
picture  may  sometimes  be  used  instead,  but  the  method  of  procedure 
is  the  same  in  either  case. 

Again,  in  many  instances  objects  are  merely  used  as  means  to  de- 
velop  an  idea.  We  say  three  apples,  four  pebbles,  two  beans;  yet 
neither  the  apples,  pebbles,  nor  beans  are  essential  to  the  conception 
of  the  mimbers  three,  four,  and  two.  In  the  higher  branches, 
as  moral  and  intellectual  philosophy,  ideas  forming  a  part  of  our 
experience  are  the  objects  which,  as  the  name  implies,  are  placed, 
or  Virown  up,  before  us  for  special  consideration. 


164  PESTALOZZI. 

This  method  commences  with  an  examination  of  objects  and  facts, 
then  Institutes  comparisons  by  which  resemblances,  differences,  and 
relations  are  observed ;  and  with  the  results  so  obtained,  repeats  the 
process  until  the  remotest  relations  are  known  and  the  highest  gener- 
alizations  reached.  This  process  may,  with  propriety,  be  called  the 
Objective  Method  or  Objective  Teaching. 

Objective  Teaching,  in  this  enlarged  sense,  inckides  Object  Lessons, 
and  a  great  deal  more.  It  comprehends  the  unfolding  of  the  facul- 
ties  in  the  order  of  their  growth  and  use,  and  the  presentation  of  the 
several  branches  of  instruction  in  their  natural  order.  Its  great  aims 
are  mental  growth  and  the  acquisition  of  knowledge. 

Memory.— This  faculty  includes  those  powers  ofthe  niind,  which 
enable  us  to  störe  up  knowledge,  and  recall  it  for  use.  That  which 
makes  the  strongest  impression,  not  only  remains  longest  with  us,  but 
is  most  easily  recalled ;  therefore,  those  educational  processes  which 
conduce  to  this  end  are  most  desirable.  Strong  and  deep  impressions 
are  made  whenever  ideas  are  connected  or  associated  by  similarities, 
contrasts,  cause  and  effect,  time,  place,  or  other  relations. 

Again,  the  impressions  are  much  stronger  when  made  upon  more 
than  one  sense ;  or,  rather,  when  those  made  upon  one  sense  are  cor- 
roborated  and  enforced  by  those  made  upon  an  other.  For  example, 
if  an  object,  interesting  to  children,  is  presented  to  them,  its  parts 
and  relations  discovered  and  pointed  out,  and  the  whole  impressed  by 
the  use  of  familiär  language  on  the  part  of  both  teacher  and  pupil, 
the  ideas  gained  will  only  need  to  be  occasionally  recalled  to  become 
enduring.  On  the  contrary,  a  lesson  read  or  repeated  in  language 
not  thoroughly  imderstood,  will  make  an  impression  so  weak  that  it 
will  speedily  be  effaced.  The  objective  method  of  education  continu- 
ally  stimulates  the  power  of  association,  while  the  old  System  appeals 
mainly  to  verbal  memory. 

Morell,  in  his  Inductive  Philosophy,  says:  "The  power  of  mem- 
ory may  be  represented  by  a  spider's  web,  which  sends  out  its  thread 
in  all  directions,  establishing  connection  with  every  part  and  with  the 
central  point  of  the  whole.  When  the  mind  has  woven  such  a  web 
around  an  object,  it  can  pass  along  the  threads  at  pleasure  to  any 
given  point." 

This  view  of  memory  is  important,  since  it  shows'  that  only  by 
association  can  we  fix  any  truth  indelibly  on  the  mind  of  the  pupil, 
and  enable  him  to  recall  it  at  will.  Hence,  the  teacher  questions  and 
cross-questions  to  see  that  the  fact  he  desires  to  impress  does  not  lie 
as  an  isolated  idea  in  the  mind ;  if  it  does,  he  endeavors,  by  numer- 
ous  ties,  to  bind  it  to  other  ideas,  so  as  to  multiply  the  bridges  by 


HIS   METHOD.  165 

which  the  mind  can  return  to  it  at  any  future  time.  Therefore,  the 
cultivation  of  memory  does  not  merely  imply  the  exercise  of  a  single 
faculty,  but  also  the  order^and  connection  of  our  ideas. 

The  objective  method  of  teaching  not  only  makes  use  of  existing 
associations,  but  creates  new  ones.  In  Arithmetic,  for  instance,  if  the 
fact  that  three  times  four  is  twelve  is  associated  with  three  groups, 
each  containing  four  objects,  the  result  can  always  be  recollected  in 
the  same  manner  as  originally  found,  even  if  the  sentence  which  ex- 
pressed the  process  has  faded  from  the  memory.  Again,  if,  in  Geog- 
raphy,  the  ideas  of  a  mountain  and  a  river  and  the  relations  between 
them  are  fully  developed,  the  ideas  of  falling  water,  of  mills,  manu- 
factories,  and  thriving  cities,  can  be  established  and  associated,  so 
that  they  can  always  be  remembered  and  easily  recalled. 

In  a  majority  of  the  schools  of  the  present  day  very  little  attention 
is  paid  to  the  systematic  development  of  associated  memory.  Discon- 
nected  and  imperfect  ideas  are  presented,  and,  in  many  cases,  words 
which  convey  no  meaning  are  given.  The  vitality  is  exhausted  in  a 
vain  eöbrt  to  make  arbitrary  memory  do  the  work  of  natural  associä- 
tion.  The  strain  which  an  effort  to  memorize  isolated  facts  and  dis- 
connected  and  unmeaning^entences  produce^has  a  tendency  to  par- 
alyze  the  whole  mind,  and  to  produce^  ^i4ike  for  all  mental  work. 
The  brilliant  feats  of  word- memory,  so  often  witnessed  at  examina- 
tions  and  exhibitions,  c^n  only  deceive  those  who  are  not  able  to  dis- 
tinguish  appearance  from  reality,  shadow  from  substance. 

In  those  schools  where  the  pupils  are  made  to  rely  mainly  upon 
verbal  memory,  there  will  be  found  generally  the  least  originality, 
the  least  invention,  and  the  least  aihount  of  true,  vigorous,  mental 
discipline;  while  conceit  and  deception  are  engendered  and  honest 
efforts  discouraged.  — ■- 

Imagination. —  The  power  of  creating  new  forms  and  combinations 
out  of  the  Clements  w^hich  nature  furnishe»,  the  faculty  which  neyer 
lets  the  mind  rest  content  with  mere  perception,  but  is  constantly 
urging  it  to  new  activities,  is  the  Imagination.  Its  work  is  demanded 
in  every  department  of  human  thought  and  action;  and,  therefore, 
this  faculty  should  be  carefully  and  thoroughly  trained.  Its  impor- 
tance  in  educational  work  is  generally  overlooked  ;  partly,  from  a  mis- 
understanding  in  regard  to  the  faculty  itself,  and  partly  from  a  lack 
of  System  in  the  treatment  of  all  the  faculties. 

Imagination  is  usually  regarded  as  synonomous  with  fancy  —  very 
pleasant  to  am  use,  but  of  little  worth  in  real  labor.  It  is  thought  to 
be  poetic,  sentimental,  impracticable,  and.  of  Service  in  the  avocations 
rather  than  the  vocations  of  life.     Even  writers  upon  mental  philoso- 


\ 


166  PESTALOZZI. 

phy  seem  to  have  been  lost  in  a  kind  of  fog  when  attempting  to  de- 
fine  its  nature  and  office. 

The  mind  must  have  the  power  to  iise  the  ideas  it  obtains,  or 
they  are  of  little  worth ;  and,  to  use  them  well,  it  must  combine  them 
into  new  forms,  thus  discovering  new  relations.  Imagination  is  usu- 
ally  considered  reproductive  as  well  as  productive.  The  former,  how- 
ever,  means  but  little  more  than  a  vivid  recoUection ,  while  the  latter 
alone  expresses  the  true  idea  of  the  recombining  or  inventive  faculty. 
Before  the  imagination  can  be  developed  and  trained,  the  mind  must 
be  in  possession  of  a  large  number  of  definite  ideas,  and  have  the 
ability  to  perceive  the  relations  that  exist  between  them.  Botli  of 
these  conditions  are  furnished  by  the  Objective  System  in  a  much 
higher  degree  than  by  any  other. 

Again,  by  furnishing  the  mind  with  proper  and  congenial  subjects 
of  thought,  the  disastrous  consequences  of  a  perverted  imagination  are 
avoided.  When  oceupied  with  ideas  which  have  a  real  and  tangible 
basis,  the  mind  obtains  quicker  perceptions  of  true  relations  and  a 
desire  for  further  investigation  ;  thus  the  imagination  is  impelled  in 
the  right  direction.  Deprived  of  this  food,  it  uses  the  Impulses 
which  spring  from  ill-regulated  appetites  and  passions,  and  creates  a 
World  which  is  unreal,  and  may  be  grotesque  or  prurient.  The  task 
imposed  upon  pupils  of  studying  words  instead  of  ideas,  of  trying  to 
understand  subjects  above  their  comprehension,  tends  to  paralyze  the 
imagination,  or  force  it  into  Channels  unnatural  and  dangerous.  The 
baleful  influence  of  improper  sights  and  immoral  books  is  a  matter 
that  is  continually  forced  upon  the  attention  of  teachers  and  parents. 
So  potent  are  the  evils  arising  therefrom,  that  it  has  become  a  seri- 
ous  question  with  many  well-meaning  people,  whethdr  the  imagination 
is  not  a  faculty  of  evil  rather  than  beneficence,  one  that  ought  to  be 
destroyed  rather  than  developed. 

When  the  mind  is  filled  with  pleasing  ideas ;  when  it  is  stimulated 
through  all  the  organs  of  sense;  when  its  energies  are  taxed  to  the 
utmost;  when  its  powers  are  brought  into  action  in  the  exact  order 
of  nature, —  then  will  the  imagination  find  plenty  of  emjjloyment  in 
the  real  world,  and  will  not  so  readily  wander  away  into  by  and  for- 
bidden  paths ;  and  the  evils  now  so  deplored,  and  so  largely  attributa- 
ble  to  false  methods  of  Instruction  will  disappear. 

Beason. —  We  do  not  propose  to  give  here  an  exhaustive  disserta- 
tion  upon  the  subject  of  reason,  or  to  attempt  to  reconcile  the  con- 
flicting  ideas  of  philosophers  concerning  it.  The  general  office  of 
reason  seems,  however,  to  be  well  understood.  Leading  through 
definite  processes  to  definite  results,  it  is  the  guide  to  imagination. 


HIS   METHOD.  167 

It  places  all  knowledge  in  due  order  of  dependence,  and  discovers 
ultimate  relations  through  a  succession  of  logical  steps.  Its  activities 
lie  entirely  in  the  field  of  knowledge ;  and  its  conclusions  are  val- 
uable  just  in  proportion  to  the  breadth  of  the  foundations  upon 
which  its  premises  rest,  and  to  the  exact  dependence  of  the  steps  of 
its  processes. 

Generalization,  which  is  indispensable  to  Classification,  supplies  pre- 
mises from  which  new  and  important  deductions  can  be  made,  and 
is  an  outgrowth  of  reasoning.  The  reasoning,  which  is  the  re- 
sult  of  limited  Observation  and  imperfect  investigation,  arrives  at 
results  which  are  as  likely  to  be  false  as  to  be  true,  and  are  calcu- 
lated  to  deceive  from  their  resemblance  to  true  logical  conclusions. 
The  person  who  indulges  in  such  reasoning,  or  is  influenced  by  it, 
not  only  accepts  false  conclusions,  but  his  mind  becomes  contracted, 
and  he  loses  all  desire  for  that  broader  investigation  necessary  to  the 
establishment  of  genuine  truth.  He  is  content  to  take  the  semblance 
for  the  reality. 

Again,  if  reason,  whose  ofiice  is  to  arrange  facts  in  their  order  of 
dependence  or  to  construct  science,  has  a  narrow  basis  of  facts,  its 
Classification  is  incomplete  and  worthless.  The  value  of  the  process 
of  tracing  cause  and  effect,  and  the  results  obtained,  are  in  direct  pro- 
portion to  the  number  of  facts  taken  into  consideration,  and  to  the 
care  and  minuteness  with  which  these  facts  have  been  observed  and 
investigated.  No  exceptional  or  special  power  of  reasoning  can  com- 
pensate  for  the  lack  of  that  knowledge  upon  which  it  is  based.  In- 
deed,  the  stronger  the  process  of  reasoning  and  the  more  perfect  the 
logic  exercised  upon  a  narrow  and  insufficient  foundation  of  facts,  the 
greater  is  the  certainty  of  false  conclusions  and  distorted  views  of 
life,  culminating  in  unwise  actions. 

The  work  of  the  educator  in  regard  to  reason  seems  to  be  very 
piain.  He  is  to  so  prepare  the  mind  of  his  pupils  that  reason  may 
guide  them  invariably  to  truth.  To  do  this,  the  perception  must  be 
cultivated  in  such  a  manner  that  conclusions  will  be  based  upon  ex- 
perience.  The  retaining  and  recollecting  faculties  must  be  active  and 
faithful,  and  the  imagination  must  be  so  exercised  as  to  perceive 
4he  relations  which  come  from  all  possible  combinations.  When  a 
pupil  is  thus  trained,  reason  will  act  correctly,  and  he  can  be  easily 
led  from  simple  facts  and  relations  through  easy  and  logical  steps 
to  ithe  Solution  of  complicated  problems  in  science  and  in  life. 

From  this  examination  of  all  the  faculties  of  the  mind,  the  order 
of  ^eir  development,  and  their  modes  of  action,  we  are  able  to  estab- 
lish  the  truth  and  excellence  of  Pestalozzi's  work,  and  the  importance 


168  PESTALOZZI. 

of  the  great  educational  movement  which  he  inaugurated.  No  matter 
how  slowly  these  ideas  may  make  their  way;  no  matter  how  fiercely 
they  may  be  assailed,  they  are  like  leaven  in  the  measure  of  meal. 
These  truths,  which  form  the  basis  of  the  Pestalozzian  method,  had 
long  existed  as  intellectual  convictions  in  the  minds  of  philosophers, 
and  had  even  been  expressed  in  proverbs  and  apothegms ;  but  it  was 
Pestalozzi  who  first  showed,  by  actual  experiment,  how  they  might  be 
made  the  basis  of  universal  education,  and  the  means  by  which  hu- 
manity  might  be  elevated.  When  he  proved  that  the  faculties  should 
be  unfolded  in  an  orderly  and  intelligent  manner,  he  undermined  the 
very  foundation  of  empiricism ;  when  he  pointed  out  the  value  of 
Objective  Teaching,  the  idolatrous  worship  of  words  was  placed  under 
the  ban  of  human  intelligence ;  and  when  he  so  eloquently  and  faith- 
fuUy  demonstrated  the  necessity  of  observing  and  respecting  the  indi- 
viduality  of  every  child,  arbitrary  authority  and  routine  became 
obsolete. 


CHAPTER    III. 
SPECIAL  APPLICATION  OF  PESTALOZZI'S  METHOD. 

AMETHOD  of  treating  this  subject  which  shall  deal  justly  with 
the  principles  involved,  the  experiments  of  Pestalozzi,  and 
the  transformation  which  the  work  has  undergone,  is  not  easy  to  find. 
We  might  present  a  faithful  sketch  of  Pestalozzis  own  experiments 
and  scattered  exercises  before  they  were  reärranged  by  his  associates ; 
we  might  give  a  description  of  the  workings  of  his  Institution  in  the 
most  flourishing  stage  of  its  existence;  or  we  might  describe  the 
manner  in  which  the  branches  of  Instruction  are  treated  in  the  so- 
called  Pestalozzian  schools  of  the  present  day.  In  either  case,  our 
presentation  would  be  one-sided  and  partial,  and  would  give  little 
idea  of  the  extent  to  which  these  principles  have  been  applied  to  the 
different  departments  of  education.  Many  of  Pestalozzi's  own  exper- 
iments were  obviously  failures,  and  were  abandoned  as  soon  as  tried. 
Subsequent  investigation  has  shown  that  they  were  often  antagonistic 
to  the  principles  which  they  sought  to  embody.  Even  as  modified 
by  his  associates  and  used  in  his  Institution  they  were  necessarily 
crude,  and  have  since  been  greatly  improved. 

We  make  this  Statement  in  consideration  of  the  fact  that  the 
American  public,  through  Barnard's  Review,  has  been  made  ac- 
quainted  with  a  criticism  of  Pestalozzi's  method  by  Raumer,  an  emi- 
nent German  writer,  a  friend  and  cotemporary  of  Pestalozzi.  This 
criticism  was  written  for  readers  in  Germany,  where  the  principles 
of  Pestalozzi  were  well-known  and  appreciated,  and  was  mainly  in- 
tended  to  show  how  far  the  application  of  the  method  feil  short  of 
the  principles  on  which  it  was  based.  This  view  of  the  subject  is 
calculated  to  mislead  the  American  reader  who  has  no  knowledge 
of  the  real  nature  of  Pestalozzi's  work,  and  whose  attention  is  thus 
called  only  to  its  accidental  crudities  and  defects  rather  than  to  its 
intrinsic  merits. 

In  regard  to  the  treatment  of  the  branches  in  the  Pestalozzian 
schools  of  the  present  day,  there  are  wide  differences.     Even  in  the 

(169) 


170  PESTALOZZI. 

same  school,  the  principles  which  are  foUowed  in  one  departmeiit  are 
often  violated  in  another.  To  exaraine  and  intelligently  criticise  all 
that  has  been  done,  and  all  that  educators  are  now  doing  in  this  di- 
rection,  would  far  exceed  the  scope  and  limits  of  this  work ;  and  we 
shall,  therefore,  content  ourselves  with  giving  Pestalozzi's  own  ideas 
upon  some  branches  and  the  leading  characteristics  which  all  his 
followers  have  mainly  observed. 

Pestalozzi,  in  the  sketch  of  his  early  experiments,  dwells  exclusively 
on  the  Clements  of  each  science ;  and  wisely,  for  they  furnish  a  safe 
foundation.     In  the  old  System  they  were  entirely  neglected. 

Spelling. —  This  subject  had  previously  been  taught  by  using  only 
the  names  of  the  letters ;  but  neither  the  frown  of  the  austere  school- 
master,  nor  the  birch  scepter  in  his  band,  could  induce  the  trembling 
culprit  on  the  bench  to  find  out,  without  many  a  blunder,  the  true 
pronunciation  of  a  word  from  repeating  the  names  of  the  letters 
which  compose  it,  —  to  see  that  aitch  a  tee  should  produce  the  word 
hat.  Pestalozzi  substituted  the  real  sounds  for  the  names  of  the\ 
letters,  and  thus  gave  a  powerful  inipulse  to  the  phonetic  method,/ 
now  in  use  in  all  good  schools. 

Numher. —  Pestalozzi  and  his  associates  made  more  radical  changes 
in  the  teaching  of  Arithmetic  than  in  that  of  any  other  branch  of 
science;  but  the  methods  which  they  developed  are  now  so  univer- 
sally  practiced  that  nothing  new  can  be  said  of  them.  These  methods 
were  introduced  in  the  face  of  a  fierce  and  prolonged  Opposition  from 
the  advocates  of  the  formal  method  of  ''ciphering";  but  the  excel- 
lencies  of  the  new  System  were  perfectly  demonstrated  by  its  advo- 
cates. A  series  of  carefully  graduated  exercises,  conforming  to  the 
natural  development  of  the  faculties  of  the  mind,  were  arranged  by 
Krüsi,  and  were  afterward  revised  and  extended  by  Ramsauer, 
Schmid,   and  others. 

Pestalozzi's  iirst  views  upon  the  subject  are  shown  by  the  following 
extract  from  *'How  Gertrude  Teaches  her  Children":  "The  science 
of  Arithmetic  arises  altogether  from  the  combination  and  Separation 
of  units.  Its  fundamental  formula  is  this:  One  and  one  are  two; 
one  from  two  leaves  one.  Any  number,  whatever  its  name,  is  noth- 
ing but  an  abridgment  of  this  elementary  process  of  counting.  It  is 
of  the  utmost  importance  that  this  ultimate  basis  of  all  number  should 
not  be  obscured  in  the  mind  by  arithmetical  abbreviations.  The 
science  of  numbers^ust  be  so  taught  that  their  real  properties  and 


proportions  may  l^deeply  impressed  on  the  mind.     If  this  be  neg- 


APPLICATION   OF    PESTALOZZl's    METHOD.  171 

lected,  the  study  of  number  will  be  degraded  into  a  mere  plaything 
of  the  child's  memory  and  Imagination,  and  its  object,  of  course, 
entirely  defeated. 

"If,  for  instance,  we  learn  by  rote  that  three  and  four  make 
seven,  and  we  then  build  upon  this  seven  as  if  we  actually  compre- 
liended  it,  we  deceive  ourselves;  we  have  no  real  apprehension  of 
seven,  because  we  are  not  conscious  of  the  real  fact,  the  actual  sight 
of  which  can  alone  give  truth  and  reality  to  the  hollow  sound. 

/^'  The  first  impressions  of  numerical  proportions  should  be  given  to 
ihe  child  by  illustrating  the  variations  of  more  and  less  with  real  ob- 
(jects  placed  in  his  view.  My  first  arithmetical  exercises  may  be  found 
in  the  '  Mother's  Manual,'  the  first  tables  of  which  are  intended  to 
bring  distinctly  before  th^i^yes  of  the  child  the  ideas  of  one,  two, 
three,  etc.,  up  to  ten.  I  then  call  upon  him  to  select  the  pictures  of 
the  objects  which  represent  one ;  then  those  which  are  double,  triple, 
etc.  After  this  I  make  him  go  over  the  same  numbers  with  his 
fingers,  with  beans,  pebbles,  or  any  other  objects  which  may  be  at 
band.  He  "is  still  more  deeply  impressed  by  repeating  them  many 
times  a  day  on  the  spelling-tablet,*  first  dividing  each  word  into  its 
syllables,  and  then  asking :  '  How  many  syllables  has  this  word  ? ' 
'  What  is  the  first,  the  second,  the  third?'  '  How^  many  letters  in  the 
first,  second,  third  syllable?'  etc.  In  this  manner  children  are  made 
perfectly  familiär  with  the  elements  of  numbers,  and  the  conception 
of  them  remains  present  to  their  minds  while  learning  the  use  of  their 
abridgments,  figures,  in  which  they  must  not  be  exercised  before  the 
former  be  fully  secured.  The  most  important  advantage  gained  by 
this  proceeding  is  the  acquisition  of  clear  ideas,  and  it  is  almost  in- 
credible  how  great  a  facility  in  the  art  of  calculating  the  child  derives 
from  this  method  of  teaching. 

*' Any  objects  may  be  used  for  teaching  Arithmetic,  each  one  rep- 
resenting  a  unit.  An  object  is  presented,  and  the  teacher  asks: 
'  How  many  objects  are  there  here  ? '  The  children  answer,  '  There 
is  but  one.'  The  teacher  adds  one,  and  asks  again :  '  One  and  one, 
how  many  are  there?'  Answer:  'One  and  one  are  two.'  And  so 
I  go  on,  adding  first  one  at  a  time;  then  two,  three,  etc. 

''After  the  child  has,  in  this  manner,  come  to  a  füll  understanding 
of  the  combinations  of  units  up  to  ten,  and  has  learned  to  express 
himself  with  perfect  ease  in  each  particular  case,  the  objects  are  again 
presented,  but  the  questions  are  changed :    '  If  we  have  two  objects, 


*The  Spelling-tablet  is  an  apparatus  on  which  the  letters,  fixed  on  little 
Squares  of  pasteboard,  are  made  to  slide  in  and  out. 


172 


PESTALOZZI. 


how  many  times  one  object?'     The  child  looks,  counts,  and  answers 
correctly:   'If  there  are  two  objects,  we  have  two  times  one  object.' 

"The  child  having  thus  distinctly  and  repeatedly  counted  over  the 
parts  of  each  number  up  to  ten,  and  having  obtained  a  clear  view  of 
the  number  of  units  in  each,  the  question  is  again  changed  —  the  ob- 
jects being  still  before  him :  'Two,  how  many  times  one  is  it?' 
'  Three,  how  many  times  one  ? '  Or,  again  :  '  How  many  times  is  one 
contained  in  two,  three?'  etc.  After  the  child  has,  by  these  means, 
been  made  acquainted  with  the  simple  Operations  in  addition,  multi- 
plication,  and  division,  subtraction  is  to  be  taught  upon  the  same  plan. 
The  ten  objects  being  placed  together,  the  teacher  takes  away  one  of 
them,  and  asks :  'If  I  take  one  from  ten,  how  many  remain?'  The 
child  counts,  finds  nine,  and  answers :  '  If  you  take  one  from  ten,  it 
leaves  nine.'  The  teacher  then  takes  away  a  second  object ;  and  so 
on  to  the  end." 


I    I    I    1    I    I    I    1    I    I 

11   11   i[   n   11    11   11   11   11   II 

111    111    111     111    111     in    111    111    111    III 

II 1    1 II    IUI     II I    im    IUI    ii  i    yv    im    mi 

11  IUI  IUI  iiiiiii  lim  iiiiui  Uli  iiiiiii  inii  iiiiiii  iiuiiL 

llllllll  IIIUIII  llllllll  IIIIIIU IIIIIIII  IUI  111 IIIILII IIIIIIII IIIIIIU  IllIIIll 

jLii  jiiiii  iiiiuiii  nui  iiiiiiiii  Uli:  iiiiii  iniiiii  in  u  im  im 

iimiiiimiiiiiiimiiimmiiiiiffliiiiimiiimiimiimiimiimiim^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

These  exercises  may  be  continued  in  a  great  variety  of  forms  with 
all  the  numbers  up  to  ten.  The  table  which  was  intended  to  bring 
these  facts  before  the  perception  of  the  pupil,  formed,  for  a  long  time, 
a  prominent  feature  in  all  Pestalozzian  schools.  It  even  appeared  in 
the  first  edition  of  Warren  Colburn's  Mental  Arithmetic;  but  has 
since  been  superseded  by  the  ball-frame,  and  other  means  used  in 
Infant  schools.  We  give  above  a  representation  of  the  original  table, 
which,  executed  on  a  large  scale,  might  still  form  a  useful  addition  to 
school  apparatus. 

"  AVhen  the  child  has  mastered  these  tables,"  says  Pestalozzi,  "  he 
will  have  acquired  so  complete  a  knowledge  of  the  real  properties  and 


173 

proportions  of  numbers  that  he  will  be  able  to  enter,  with  the  utmost 
facility,  upon  the  common  abridged  modes  of  calcülating  by  figures. 
His  mind  can  not  be  confused:  his  computations  are  a  rational  pro- 
cess,  not  a  mere  mechanical  work  of  the  memory. 

"  But  increase  and  diminution  are  not  confined  to  units :  they  apply 
also  to  that  second  department  of  Arithmetic  in  which  we  find  every 
Unit  capable  of  division  and  subdivision  into  an  indefinite  number  of 
parts.  In  the  discussion  of  units,  a  line  was  used  for  Illustration. 
For  this  new  department,  it  is  necessary  to  find  a  figure  which  may  be 
divided  to  an  indefinite  extent  in  such  a  manner  that  each  part  is  an 
independent  unit  analogous  to  the  whole ;  and  that  the  child  may 
have  the  relation  of  the  fraction  to  the  whole  as  clearly  before  his 
eyes  as  by  three  distinct  lines  he  sees  the  relation  of  three  to  one. 

''The  only  figure  adapted  to  this  purpose  is  the  square.  By  means 
of  it,  the  diminution  of  each  single  part  and  the  proportionate  increase 
of  the  number  of  parts  by  the  continued  division  and  subdivision  of 
the  Unit  may  be  made  as  evident  as  the  ascending  scale  of  numbers 
by  the  addition  or  multiplication  of  units." 

From  our  present  stand-point,  it  is  quite  evident  that  the  use  of  the 
Square,  a  mere  figure,  upon  which  Pestalozzi  so  much  relied,  is  a 
much  less  philosophical  means  of  teaching  fractions  than  a  real  object, 
like  an  apple,  as  the  latter  appeals  to  more  than  one  sense.  The 
method  was  right,  although  the  means  employed  were  not  the  best 
that  could  have  been  devised.  There  is  a  strong  tendency  on  the 
part  of  teachers  to  confound  method  with  the  means  by  which  it  is 
illustrated ;  and  at  one  time  Pestalozzi  and  some  of  his  followers  feil 
into  that  error. 

The  pupils  of  Schmid  and  Ramsauer  attained  a  clearness,  precision, 
and  rapidity  in  the  Solution  of  questions  of  Mental  Arithmetic,  which 
excited  the  admiration  of  all  who  heard  them,  and  which  have  hardly 
been  surpassed  in  the  present  day.  This  success  is  due,  in  part,  to 
the  enthusiasm  with  which  the  work  was  performed ;  and,  in  part,  to 
the  fact  that  Illustration  was  carried  to  a  far  greater  extent  than  it  is 
now. 

We  append  the  report  of  a  lesson  in  number,  made  by  Von  Türk, 
when  he  visited  the  school  in  its  earlier  days.     It  may  be  presumed 
that  the  idea  of  number  from  one  to  ten  had  already  been  developed. 
What  do  you  see  here?' 
Beans.' 

"  '  Of  what  color  are  they?' 
Yellow,  with  a  white  spot.' 

"  '  How  are  they  placed  ? ' 


174  PESTALOZZI. 


"  *  In  a  straight  row/ 

"  '  On  which  side  are  the  germs  or  white  spots? 

"'On  the  left  side.' 


''  'How  do  the  distances  between  them  compare?* 
'*  'They  are  equally  distant  from  each  other.' 
"  '■  How  many  are  there?' 
"  '  There  are  eight  beans.' 

"The  children  were  here  required,  as  an  exercise  in  language,  to 
describe  the  color,  position,  and  relative  distance  of  the  beans  from 
each  other;  as,  *I  see  eight  beans  lying  in  a  straight  row  on  the 
table ;  they  are  yellow,  and  equally  distant  from  each  other.' 

''In  the  second  part  of  the  lesson,  changes  were  made  while  the 
children  turned  away  from  the  teacher.     They  were  then  required  to 
give  an  account  of   these  changes  m   answer   to  questions  like  the 
foUowing : 
"  '  What  change  do  you  see  in  the  position  of  the  beans?' 
"  'They  are  farther  apart.' 
"  'Is  there  any  change  in  the  number?' 
"  '  There  are  eight  beans,  as  before.' 
"  'AVhat  other  change  do  you  see?' 
"  'They  lie  in  a  crooked  row.' 
"  '  Any  other  change  ?  ' 
"  'The  germs  are  on  the  right  side.' 
"  'What  do  you  see  me  do  now?' 
"  'You  take  away  two  beans.' 
"  'How  many  are  left?' 
"  'There  are  six  left.' 

"The  teacher  places  the  remaining  beans  farther  apart,  asking: 
"  '  How  many  do  you  see  now?' 
"  '  We  see  six  beans.' 

"  '  Look  at  the  space  they  occupy ;  are  there  not  as  many  as  before?' 
"  'They  occupy  the  same  space,  but  they  are  farther  apart.' 
" '  What,  then,  do  you  say  when  two  beans  are  taken  from  eight 
beans  ? ' 

"  'Two  beans  taken  from  >eight  beans  leave  six  beans.' 
" '  How  many  beans  must  be  added  to  six  beans  to  niake  eight  beans?' 
"'Two  beans.' 

"  The  summing  up  of  the  changes  which  were  ma'de  gives  rise  to 
composition  in  which  the  verb  is  used  in  the  past  tense  and  in  con- 
nection  with  adverbs  of  time ;  as,  '  You  placed  the  beans  farther 
apart,  and  then  turned  the  germs  toward  the  right  side,  and  laid 
them  in  a  crooked  ro\v,'  etc."  i>Wi^^  ^  ^ 


•     /  \ 

APPLICATION   OF    PESTALOZZI^»   METHOD.        '  /    l75  ^ 

).               /^  i 
'  \  /  .           *     * 

We  would   like   to   call   especial  attention   to  thp   pritiqiples  th^f  ^ 

characterize  this  exercise,  considered  as  an  obje(l|,  lesspa.           -/^         '/  y 

Fir^i.  —  That  a  füll  recognition  is  made  of  the^actj'm^t  childr^n  ^ 

gain  their  practical   knowledge  of  things  in   connection  \fi^  man/'y. 

circumstances  which  they  consider  in  turn,  although  they  alter^iaftely  fj. 

fix  their  attention  upon  each  point.  *  /  ^ 
Second. — That  the  language  of  a  child  is  far  better  cultivated  by 

a  füll  aecount  of  what  is  passing  before  him,  than  by  isolated  words 

or  fragmentary  sentences.  \ 
Third.' — That  a  mingling  of  play  with  Instruction  is  a  healthful  in- 

centive  to  the  attainment  of  knowledge,  and  conduces  to  the  well- 

being  of  both  mind  and  body.  , 

Drawing. —  It   is    an    interesting   fact    that  Pestalozzi,    though   no  .; 

adept  in  many  of  the  branches  for  the  teaching  of  which  he  tried  to  i 

establish  a  better  method,  seemed  to  know,  as  by  Intuition,  the  real  • 

foundation  of  the  sciences,  and  the  principal  defects  in  the  manner  in  \ 

which  each  had  been  taught.     This  was  preeminently  true  of  Draw-  i 

ing;  for  he  was  hardly  able  to  draw  a  line  correctly.     He  says:  *'In  \ 

endeavoring  to  teach  Writing,  I  found  I  must  begin  by  teaching  Draw-  \ 

ing;  and  when  I  took  the  latter  in  hand,  I  saw  that  the  art  of  meas-  ; 

uring  was  involved.  ^ 

"  The  common  method  of  proceeding  is  to  begin  with  an  incorrect  j 

view^  and  a  crooked  representation  of  the  object ;    to  erase,   draw  ] 

again,  and  repeat  this  tedious  process  until,  by  degrees,  an  instinctive  i 

feeling  of  the  proportions  is  awakened.     At  last,  measuring,  which  \ 

should  have  been  the  first  process,  is  resorted  to.  i 

''  Our  artists  do  not  measure ;  but,  by  long  practice,  they  acquire  \ 

a  greater  or  less  precision  in  imitating  outlines,  and  this  obviates  the  1 

necessity  of  measuring.      Each   has  his   own  method  of   procedure  \ 

but  he  is  unable  to  explain  it ;  hence,  if  he  teaches  others,  he  leaves  \ 

them  to  grope  in  the  dark,  even  as  he  did,  and  to  acquire,  by  great  \ 

exertion  and  perseverance,  the  same  instinctive  feeling  of  proportions.  , 

This  is  why  art  has  remained  exclusively  in  the  hands  of  a  few  priv-  ; 
ileged  individuals,  who  have  talent  and  leisure  to  pursue  a  circuit- 
ous  road.     Yet,  Drawing  ought   to  be  a  universal  acquirement,  be- 

cause  the  talent  for  it  is  universally  inherent.  j 

*' A  taste  for  Drawing  invariably  manifests  itself  in  the  child  with-  ' 

out  any  assistance  from  art ;  while  the  task  of  learning  to  read  and  ■ 

write  is,  on  aecount  of  its  difficulty,  so  disagreeable  to  children  that  \ 

it  requires  great  art  or  great  violence  to  overcome  the  aversion  which  i 

they  often  evince.     In  some  instances,  they  sustain  a  greater  injury  i 


176  PESTALOZZI. 

from  the  means  adopted  to  gain  their  attention  and  to  force  their 
application,  than  can  ever  be  repaid  by  the  advantages  accruing  to 
them  from  the  possession  of  these  acquirements. 

^'  In  proposing,  however,  the  art  of  Drawing  as  a  general  branch 
of  education,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  I  consider  it  as  a  means  of 
leading  the  child  from  vague  perceptions  to  clear  ideas.  To  accom- 
plish  this  object,  it  must  not  be  separated  from  the  art  of  measuring. 
If  the  child  be  made  to  imitate  objects  before  he  has  acquired  a  dis- 
tinct  idea  of  their  proportions,  his  instruction  in  the  art  of  Drawing 
will  fail  to  produce  upon  his  mental  development  that  beneficial  in- 
fluence  which  alone  renders  it  valuable." 

The  principles  so  clearly  enunciated  can  not  fail  to  command  gen- 
eral assent.  They  may  be  considered  as  the  foundation  of  all  reform 
in  this  important  branch  of  education.  In  determining  the  consecu- 
tive  exercises  for  a  course  of  instruction,  Pestalozzi  is  less  fortunate; 
for  in  this  we  find,  mixed  with  truth,  many  errors,  arising  from  his 
inadequate  knowledge  of  the  details  of  science.  To  Buss  was  in- 
trusted  the  difiicult  and  somewhat  mysterious  task  of  constructing  an 
"aiphabet  of  form."  This  aiphabet  was  found  in  the  various  lines  of 
a  figure  drawn  within  a  Square,  and  consisting  of  vertical,  horizontal, 
and  diagonal  lines,  and  in  arcs  placed  in  the  four  principal  points  of 
direction.  The  error  of  this  plan  is  more  in  application  than  in  gen- 
eral conception.  Pestalozzi  w^as  evidently  in  search  of  the  Clements 
of  form,  out  of  which  simple  figures  or  patterns,  corresponding  to 
words  in  language,  could  be  constructed.  These  patterns  are  again 
united  to  form  figures  more  and  more  elaborate,  as  words  are  to  form 
sentences,  and  sentences  discourse.  The  aiphabet  which  he  formed, 
consisting  of  straight  lines  and  the  are,  is  not,  however,  suflicient  to 
express  all  the  varied  forms  of  nature's  work,  and  therefore  is  incom- 
plete. 

Pestalozzi  had  but  little  knowledge  of  Geometry,  Perspective,  and 
their  kindred  branches;  hence,  when  he  entered  into  the  minute  de- 
tails of  Drawing,  he  was  liable  to  circumscribe  the  subject  within  too 
narrow  limits,  and  to  lay  a  foundation  without  sufficiently  consider- 
ing  the  superstructure  to  be  erected  upon  it. 

Language. — Pestalozzi  found  in  Language  the  same  want  of  System 
as  in  Drawing.  He  was  obliged  to  enter  upon  the  field  of  untried 
experiment,  and  the  circuitous  routes  which  he  traversed  could  not 
fail  to  lead  him  astray,  although  he  pursued,  in  the  main,  the  right 
direction. 

The  exercises  which  he  suggested  as  an  introduction  to  reading, 


APPLICATION    OF    PESTALOZZl'S    METHOD.  177 

though  imperfect,  contain  the  germ  of  that  instruction  which  has 
rendered  Language  the  Interpreter  of  reality  and  the  expression  of 
thought.  He  says:  ''After  I  began  to  teach  reading,  I  found  that 
my  pupils  wanted  first  to  be  taught  speaking ;  and  when  I  attempted 
this,  I  was  forced  to  begin  with  single  sounds,  and  from  these  to 
build  up  words,  and  from  words,  sentences." 

His  remarks  upon  the  necessity  of  making  Observation  the  basis  of 
language,  thinking  of  speaking,  and  speaking  of  writing,  are  very  im- 
pressive.  His  denunciations  can  not  be  called  severe,  when  we  con- 
sider  that  the  System  of  education  then  in  vogue  had  led  the  people 
to  become  worshipers  of  words.  Many  of  our  schools  are  open  to  the 
same  criticism. 

"The  people  of  our  portion  of  the  world  are  sunk  to  such  a  depth, 
because,for  more  than  a  Century  in  their  common  schools,  an  influence 
over  the  human  mind  has  been  accorded  to  words,  which  not  only 
destroys  the  power  of  attention  to  the  impressions  of  nature,  but 
mars  the  very  susceptibility  of  men  toward  them.  I  say  once  more, 
that  while  this  has  been  done,  and  has  made  some  of  our  European 
people  the  most  wordy  chatter-boxes  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  they 
have  not  been  taught  to  speak. 

"This  being  the  case,  is  it  a  wonder  that  the  civilization  of  this 
Century  and  of  this  part  of  the  world  is  sunk  to  its  present  low  con- 
dition  ?  or,  is  it  not  rather  a  Avonder  that,  considering  the  clumsy  and 
absurd  methods  which  have  been  practiced,  human  intelligence  has 
retained  so  much  of  its  native  force  as  to  be  still  recognized  ?  But 
God  be  praised !  the  folly  of  all  these  apish  methods  will,  in  the  end, 
find  an  antagonist  in  human  nature  itself;  and  when  they  have 
reached  the  greatest  extreme  of  apishness  Avhich  can  be  endured,  they 
will  cease  to  injure  our  race.  Follij  and  error,  in  whatever  garb,  con- 
tain the  seeds  of  their  own  dissohitmi.  Truth  alone,  in  every  form,  cori' 
tains  mithin  itself  the  seeds  of  eternal   life." 

We  make  no  extracts  from  the  exercises  which  were  given  on  this 
subject ;  partly,  because  they  apply  to  words  and  forms  peculiar  to 
the  German  language,  and  partly,  because  they  were  but  crude 
experiments. 

Geography. —  In  his  efforts  to  systematize  Geography,  Pestalozzi 
seems  to  have  violated  the  principlej?  of  a  sound  System  of  instruction. 
This  resulted  from  an  undue  attention  to  an  alphabetical  and,  there- 
fore,  arbitrary  arrangement  of  Geographica!  names,  w^hich  he  wished 
to  impress  upon  the  mind  or,  rather,  upon  the  memories  of  the  pupils. 
He  evidently  had  not,  at  that  time,  a  correct  conception  of  the  true 
P.  12. 


178  PESTALOZZI. 

office  and  purpose  of  Geography,  but  considered  it  as  a  means  for  the 
cultivation  of  language ;  yet,  through  his  general  views  of  education, 
he  inspired  his  personal  friends,  Tobler,  Henning,  Schacht,  and  Ritter, 
with  an  enthusiasm  for  that  branch,  Avhich  has  resulted  in  making  it 
one  of  the  most  useful  pursued  in  our  schools. 

The  principles  of  Pestalozzi,  that  the  fads  of  elementary  knoivledge 
should  he  clearly  impressed  on  the  perceptions  of  children,  and  that  in- 
struction  should  proceed  from  that  which  is  near  to  that  which  is  distant, 
are  perhaps  more  imperatively  demanded  in  Geography  than  in  any 
other  study;  and  yet  in  no  branch  of  Instruction  are  these  princi- 
ples more  constantly  violated. 

The  pupil,  to  pursue  the  study  of  Geography  correctly,  should 
understand  the  art  of  measuring,  so  as  to  be  able  to  give  the  relative 
Position  of  places.  A  true  conception  of  the  cardinal  points  of  direc- 
tion  is  also  requisite  at  the  outset,  and  these  should  be  obtained  frora 
the  Position  of  the  sun  in  rising  and  setting,  so  that  the  false  Im- 
pression, obtained  from  the  study  of  the  maps,  that  north  is  up 
and  south  is  down,  shall  never  be  made.  From  the  knowledge  so 
obtained,  the  pupil  may  be  led  to  observe  and  describe  the  school- 
room,  the  play-ground,  the  garden,  the  farm,  and  all  places  with 
which  he  is  familiär. 

Whatever  he  sees,  he  should  be  taught  to  represent  in  the  form  of 
a  map,  in  the  construction  of  which  the  ideas  of  measurement  and 
Proportion  should  always  be  observed.  The  perception  of  a  hill  will 
lead  to  the  comprehension  of  a  mountain ;  of  the  windings  of  a  brook, 
to  the  knowledge  of  an  Island,  a  peninsula,  an  isthmus,  a  bay,  a 
cape,  and  a  sea.  With  this  sure  basis  of  thorough  home  knowledge, 
the  pupil  is  prepared  to  comprehend  the  essential  features  of  the 
countries  w^hich  lie  beyond  the  reach  of  his  personal  observations ; 
for  then  he  holds  the  key  of  all  geographical  knowledge. 

Singing.  —  We  have  already  stated  that  Pestalozzi  is  generally  cor- 
rect  when  governed  by  his  feelings,  though  he  sometimes  erred  in 
his  judgment.  Of  the  science  of  music  he  knew  nothing,  and,  al- 
though  he  by  no  means  undervalued  it  as  an  intellectual  process, 
yet  he  regarded  it  chiefly  in  its  softening  and  humanizing  effects 
upon  character  and  society.     He  says: 

"It  is  not  proficiency  in  music  which  I  consider  most  important. 
It  is  the  marked  and  most  beneficial  influence  Avhich  it  has  on  the 
feelings,  and  which  I  have  always  thought  to  be  very  efficient  in 
preparing  and  attuning  us  for  the  best  impressions.  The  exquisite 
harmony  of  a  superior  performance,  the  studied  elegance  of  the  exe- 


APPLICATION   OF    PESTALOZZl'S    METHOD.  179 

cution  may  give  satisfaction  to  a  connoisseur;  but  it  is  the  simple 
music  which  speaks  to  the  heart.  The  natural  melodies,  which  have 
from  time  immemorial  been  resounding  in  our  native  Valleys,  are 
fraught  with  reminiscences  of  the  brightest  parts  of  our  history,  and 
of  the  most  endearing  scenes  of  domestic  life.  The  effect  of  music 
in  education  is  not  alone  to  keep  alive  a  national  feeling:  it  goes 
much  deeper.  If  cultivated  in  the  right  spirit,  it  strikes  at  the  root 
of  every  bad  or  narrow  feeling,  of  every  ungenerous  or  mean  pro- 
pensity,  of  every  emotion  unworthy  of  humanity. 

''Those  schools  and  families,  in  which  music  has  retained  its  cheer- 
ful  and  chaste  character,  have  invariably  given  evidences  of  moral 
feeling  and,  consequently,  of  happiness,  which  leave  no  doubt  of 
the  intrinsic  value  of  that  art  which  has  sunk  into  neglect  or  degen- 
erated  into  abuse,  only  in  the  ages  of  barbarism  or  depravity." 

The  first  application  of  Pestalozzi's  principles  to  the  teaching  of 
singing  was  made  by  his  friend  Nägeli,  an  eminent  and  successful 
Swiss  composer,  well-known  to  the  musical  and  educational  world. 
The  question  which  he  undertook  to  solve  was,  how  to  make  music, 
with  all  its  elevating  influences,  a  populär  brauch  of  Instruction,  and 
not  merely  an  appendage  or  Ornament  of  fashionable  circles.  This 
could  be  done  only  by  reducing  it,  like  other  sciences,  to  its  true  Cle- 
ments ;  and  by  leading  the  pupils  to  combine  these  Clements  in  a  pro- 
gressive manner,  so  that  they  could  appreciate  the  essential  parts  of 
a  musical  composition.  Time,  melody,  and  force  were  the  three 
points  to  which  especial  attention  was  given.  Nägeli  made  it  the 
duty  of  the  teacher  to  lead  his  pupils  to  a  thorough  mastery  of  the 
length,  quality,  and  pitch  of  tones,  rather  than  to  a  mere  Imitation 
of  his  own  voice.  In  this  manner,  he  could  avoid  the  unnatural 
strain  of  the  voice,  and  the  mere  rote  teaching,  incident  to  the  old 
methods,  and  could  lead  his  pupils  to  the  discovery  of  pleasing  com- 
binations,  thus  stimulating  their  invention  and  developing  their  taste. 

The  most  approved  Systems  of  teaching  music,  at  the  present  day, 
are  but  modifications  of  that  devised  by  Nägeli,  and  are  the  results 
of  a  wider  experience  and  of  a  more  systematic  application  of  the 
principles  of  Pestalozzi. 

Farther  quotations  from  Pestalozzi's  writings  would  only  tend  to 
corroborate  what  has  already  been  clearly  shown,  that,  in  applying  his 
principles  of  education  to  specific  branches,  he  often  wandered  from 
the  true  path;  but  that  running  through  all  are  philosophic  ideas 
worthy  of  the  great  fame  of  their  author.  We  have  already  stated 
that  it  was  Niederer,  who,  in  answer  to  a  demand  which  had  becoDue 


180  PESTALOZZI. 

imperative  when  Pestalozzi's  enterprise  had  attracted  the  general  at- 
tention of  the  people  of  Europe,  first  attenipted  to  give  a  calni  and 
systematic  exposition  of  the  principles  and  their  application.  The 
impassioned  appeals  of  the  latter  were  better  calculated  to  win  the 
heart;  and  the  clear,  sharp,  philosophical  utterances  of  the  former 
to  convince  the  intellect. 


L  1  B  ]{  AllY 

U  N  I  Y  K  11 S  1  T  Y    i)  f 


CHAPTER    IV. 
APPLICATION  OF  THE  METHOD  OF  PESTALOZZI.— Continued. 

WE  have  already  stated  that  the  principles  which  underlie  Pes- 
talozzi's  method  have  been  partially  recognized  by  enlightened 
men  of  all  ages.  This  does  not,  however,  deprive  him  and  his  fol- 
lowers  of  the  merit  of  having  discovered  and  opened  new  avejiues  of 
thought  and  action,  by  which  to  reach  the  faculties  whose  develop- 
ment  is  the  very  soul  of  education.  For  instance,  as  soon  as  the  im- 
portance  of  Imagination  as  an  edueational  agent  was  recognized, 
invention  was  appealed  to.  The  most  elementary,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  the  most  pleasing,  application  of  this  principle  is  found  in  the 
exercises  known  under  the  name  — 

Liventive  Dmwing. —  In  the  introductory  exercises  of  this  course  of 
Drawing,  objects  representing  length,  like  sticks,  pencils,  etc.,  are 
placed  in  different  directions,  and  the  lines  which  represent  them  are 
drawn  on  the  board  or  slate.  In  this  manner  all  the  elements  of 
form,  straight  and  curved,  are  introduced  and  mastered.  The  per- 
ception  is  cultivated  and  the  band  trained.  These  forms  are  now  com- 
bined  by  the  pupils,  and  this  stimulates  and  strengthens  the  inventive 
faculty.  For  instance,  ttie  children  are  taught  to  combine  curvilinear 
angles  of  different  forms,  like  the  following : 


so  as  to  form  pretty  little  designs,  each  containing  only  one   kind 
of  angle. 


A 
V 


(181) 


182  PESTALOZZI. 

By  combining  two  kinds  of  angles  the  designs  become  modified  in 
various  ways. 


^\ 


If  to  each  a  third  kind  of  angle  be  added,  the  designs  become  more 
complicated,  and  a  great  variety  may  be  produced. 


^^it* 


The  progressive  character  of  such  exercises  will  be  manifest  to 
every  one.  The  band  of  the  pupil  will  be  as  well  trained  as  by  mere 
imitation.  Observation  and  Imagination  are  both  stimulated,  and  a 
feeling  of  self-reliance  is  engendered,  which  is  one  of  the  great  ends 
of  all  education.  The  development  of  an  independent  art  also  rests 
upon  the  basis  of  invention.  Schelling,  the  German  philosopher,  re- 
marks:  ''Every  original  product  of  art  arises  from  the  depth  of  Im- 
agination, branching  out  into  an  infinite  variety  of  forms,  and  com- 
bining, at  last,  into  one  graceful  whole.  This  power  of  invention  can 
not  be  communicated,  for  it  is  a  pure  gift  of  nature." 

Cmnposition. — The  relation  of  Grammar  to  language  is  ably  ex- 
pressed in  the  following  passage,  which  breathes  the  spirit  of  Pesta- 
lozzi, and  is  from  the  writings  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Chalmers:  "In 
former  years,  the  acquisition  of  Grammar  was  believed  to  be  a  nec- 
essary  consequence  of  a  classical  education ;  and  little  or  no  pains  was 
taken  to  acquaint  the  young  with  the  peculiar  forms  of  the  native 
tongue.  Afterward,  a  course  of  English  Grammar  and  Composition 
was  introduced  into  many  schools;  but  in  a  form  inconsistent  with 
nature,  and,  therefore,  incapable  of  success.  According  to  this  plan, 
the  pupils,  often  at  a  premature  age,  learn  by  heart  the  rules  in  a 


183 

little  treatise.  When  these  are  mastered  they  are  put  to  the  prac- 
tice  of  them  in  the  compositioii  of  essays ;  but  without  being  able 
to  apply  or  make  use  of  the  knowledge  they  have  acquired,  because 
it  was  only  a  knowledge  of  words,  and  not  a  perception  of  what  the 
rules  meant.  The  result  is  that  the  pupils  compose  their  essays  by 
mere  imitation ;  and  at  last  leave  school  with  little  sense  of  the 
principles,  and  as  little  acquaintance  with  the  practice,  of  grammatical 
composition  as  they  had  when  they  commenced. 

*'This  plan,  with  its  various  modifications,  being  obviously  insuffi- 
cient,  it  becomes  important  to  inquire,  by  what  means  are  we  to 
confer  upon  the  young  learner  the  knowledge  of  Grammar  and  skill 
in  Composition  which  he  requires  for  so  many  of  the  most  important 
duties  of  life?  In  this  inquiry,  we  join  with  those  who  proceed  phil- 
osophically;  in  other  words,  we  endeavor  to  ascertain  the  principle 
established  with  reference  to  this  subjeet  in  the  unerring  economy  of 
nature.  What,  in  the  first  place,  is  the  nature  of  Composition  ?  The 
etymological  meaning  is  j^'^tting  together,  in  which  sense  it  is  employed 
in  painting,  music,  and  language.  In  regard  to  language,  this  is  a 
process  which  commences  at  a  very  early  period  of  life.  The  prattle 
of  an  infant  is  in  reality  a  composition ;  a  putting  together  of  words 
to  express  ideas ;  a  process  the  same  in  kind,  though  not  in  degree,  as 
that  which  takes  place  in  the  most  matured  mind.  Now,  in  learning 
to  speak,  the  child  is  guided  by  no  rules :  no  Grammar  is  required  to 
prepare  him  for  oral  composition.  Necessity  impels,  imitation  teaches, 
practice  establishes.  Locke  says,  '  Remember,  children  are  not  to  be 
taught  by  rules  which  will  always  be  slipping  from  their  memories. 
What  you  think  is  necessary  for  them  to  do,  settle  in  them  by  indis- 
pensable practice.'  If,  then,  a  child  can  compose  spoken  sentences 
without  any  previous  knowledge  of  rules,  what  is  to  prevent  him 
from  forming  written  ones?  In  the  one  case,  the  Instrument  of  ex- 
pression  is  the  tongue ;  in  the  other,  the  pen :  but  the  process  of  com- 
bining  ideas  and  the  process  of  turning  these  ideas  into  conventional 
terms,  whether  sounds  or  marks,  are  precisely  the  same  in  both. 
Where,  then,  is  the  absolute  need  of  Grammar  to  teach  the  pupil  to 
do  this?  Might  it  not  as  well  be  argued  that  he  must  be  taught 
Grammar  before  being  allowed  to  speak?  The  legitimate  sphere  of 
Grammar  is  correction,  not  Suggestion.  Language  is  the  foundation, 
the  source  of  Grammar,  and  the  pupil  must  be  properly  trained  in 
the  former  before  the  inferences  of  the  latter  can  be  of  service. 
Hence,  not  only  is  there  no  need  of  forcing  one  through  a  treatise  of 
Grammar  to  make  him  a  composer,  but  it  is  positively  injurious  to 
do  so. 


184  •        PESTALOZZI. 

^^ Rates  are  results;  and,  whatever  be  the  science  or  art,  sound 
mental  training  consists  in  leading  the  pupils  up  to  the  steps  by 
which  these  results  are  attained,  so  that  he  is  not  only  interested  in 
the  process,  but  capable  of  valuing  the  product.  The  habit  thus 
formed  is  the  great  end,  which,  however,  can  never  be  gained  by 
re versing  the  business,  or,  what  is  still  worse,  by  handing  the  pupils 
ready  made  rules,  without  even  a  hint  as  to  the  mode  of  their  deduc- 
tion.  To  learn  Grammar  and  Syntax,  then,  as  the  end,  instead  of  the 
beginning,  is  following  precisely  the  course  of  nature,  is  learning  the 
language  synthetically,  learning  it,  in  fine,  the  very  way  in  which 
the  language  itself  has  been  formed.  That  part  of  intellectual  educa- 
tion  which  aims  at  teaching  the  mother  tongue  seems  capable  of  ar- 
rangement,  in  natural  connection,  under  two  heads : 
*'  I.  The  acquisition  of  ideas  by  means  of  objects. 

'*  II.  The  expression  of  ideas  by  words. 

"  With  regard  to  the  second,  it  is  obvious  that  the  pupil  must 
have  been  to  a  considerable  extent  prepared  for  it  while  acquiring 
ideas ;  for,  in  the  plan  proposed,  the  communication  of  a  knowledge 
of  words  goes  band  in  band  Avith  a  knowledge  of  things." 

This  extract  clearly  and  forcibly  expresses  the  general  aim  of  the 
language  exercises  in  Pestalozzi's  school,  and  those  of  his  German  fol- 
lowers.  The  title  of  these  exercises,  Denk  und  Rede-üburigen-^Thought 
and  Language  Exercises  —  shows  that  they  considered  thought  first  and 
expression  afterward.  Thought,  however,  may  be  the  result  of 
present  and  past  observations,  and,  arising  in  either  way,  may  be  the 
basis  of  exercises  in  language. 

Pestalozzi,  in  his  ''Mother's  Manual,"  made  the  human  body,  with 
its  parts  and  their  relations,  the  first  subject  for  contemplation  and 
description,  considering  the  body  of  man  to  be  nearest  to  man.  He 
made  his  pupils  describe  other  things  also,  but  committed  the  error 
of  forming  the  sentences  which  the  pupils  might  have  constructed  for 
themselves.  Ramsauer  says:  "He  lets  the  pupils  repeat,  or  rather 
scream  after  him,  '  I  see  a  wainscot :  there  is  a  long,  narrow  hole  in 
the  wainscot :  through  the  hole  I  see  the  wall,' "  etc.  In  this  manner 
historical  names  and  dates  were  taught. 

"  The  impatience  of  Pestalozzi,  which  impelled  him  continually  to 
prompt  the  pupil,  both  in  the  idea  and  expression  of  it,  was  not  pos- 
sessed  by  Krüsi,  who  prepared  a  course  of  lessons  in  which  the 
teacher  and  pupil  alternately  question  and  answer  each  other.  This 
course  was  arranged  under  the  following  heads:  "Exercises,"  first, 
"Concerning  organs  of  sense;"  second,  "Organs  of  motion  and 
action;"  third,   "Organs  of  nutrition;"  fourth,   "Organs  of  speech." 


APPLICATION    OF    PESTALOZZl's    METHOD.  185 

We  see  by  this  that  Krüsi  considered  effects  as  a  better  starting- 
point  for  children  than  causes.  Under  the  second  division  there 
was  a  good  opportunity  to  discuss  the  actions  performed  in  difFerent 
trades;  and  he  puts  to  the  children  such  questions  as  these:  Who 
cuts  ?  Where  ?  When  ?  Why  ?  etc.  In  the  exercises  of  the  third  di- 
vision he  asks:  Who  eats?  When  does  he  eat?  Where?  etc.  In 
this  manner  valuable  information  was  often  obtained;  and  all  the 
ideas  were  afterward  summed  up  in  the  form  of  a  little  composi- 
tion.  Still  the  facts  and  actions  discussed,  although  generally  known, 
were  not  seen,  and  the  lessons  served  principally  as  exercises  in 
language. 

These  exercises  give  a  very  incomplete  idea  of  what  has  been  done 
in  this  respect  by  the  German  teachers,  many  of  whom  show  great 
originality  in  making  out  their  courses.  In  one  of  his  reports, 
Horace  Mann  says:  ''In  the  ' study-plans '  of  nearly  all  the  schools, 
I  found  a  separate  hour  devoted  to  these  exercises.  The  lessons 
consisted  of  familiär  conversations  between  teacher  and  pupils, 
on  subjects  adapted  to  the  age,  capacities,  and  proficiency  of  the 
latter.  With  the  youngest  classes,  things  immediately  around  them, — 
the  school-room  and  the  materials  of  which  it  had  been  built ;  its  dif- 
ferent  parts,  as  foundation,  floor,  walls,  ceiling,  roof,  door,  fire-place ; 
its  furniture  and  apparatus;  its  books,  slates,  paper;  the  clothes  of 
the  pupils  and  the  materials  of  which  they  had  been  made ;  their 
food  and  playthings ;  the  duties  of  children  to  animals,  to  each  other, 
to  their  parents,  to  neighbors,  to  the  old,  to  their  Maker.  As  the 
children  advanced  in  age  and  attainments,  and  had  acquired  füll  and 
definite  notions  of  the  visible  and  tangible  existences  around  them, 
and  also  of  time  and  space,  so  that  they  could  understand  descrip- 
tions  of  the  unseen  and  remote,  the  scope  of  these  lessons  was  en- 
larged,  so  as  to  take  in  the  different  kingdoms  of  nature,  the  arts, 
trades,  and  occupations  of  men,  and  the  more  complicated  affairs  of 
Society." 

Object  Lessons,  as  introduced  into  England  by  Miss  Mayo,  and 
into  this  country  by  Mr.  Sheldon,  are  of  quite  a  different  character, 
since  all  the  subjects  are  illustrated  by  objects  or  pictures  placed  be- 
fore  the  children  to  be  seen  and  handled,  thus  stimulating  Observation 
and  cultivating  perception  directly.  This  process  seems  best  adapted 
to  the  practical  spirit  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  as  it  accords  with 
their  habits  of  arriving  at  conclusions  through  a  quickness  of  percep- 
tion, rather  than  by  reflection. 

It  is  easy  to  criticise  either  method,  when  carried  to  an  extreme. 
While  the  exercises  of  the  German  method  are  admirably  adapted  to 


186  PESTALOZZI. 

freedom  of  expression  in  oral  composition,  they  are  often  desultoiy, 
and  there  is  a  want  of  that  novelty  and  animation  necessary  to  the 
nature  of  childhood.  In  the  English  there  is  an  occasional  tendency 
to  encumber  the  exercises  with  technical  terms,  and  stifF,  formal 
sentences,  before  the  füll  meaning  of  those  terms  and  Statements  is 
properly  understood. 

The  highest  result  in  the  future  will  doubtless  be  obtained  by  the 
judicious  use  of  both  these  processes,  pruned  of  their  errors  and  com- 
bined  into  one.  The  time  is  evidently  at  band  when  what  is  now 
termed  Object  Lessons  will  be  embraced  under  the  more  compre- 
hensive  name  of  Objective  Teaching,  which  will  include  all  depart- 
ments  of  Instruction ;  while  the  correct  expression  of  all  ideas  thus 
gained,  whether  in  the  form  of  discourse  or  of  written  composition, 
will  be  a  practical  course  of  language. 

Geoirwtry.  — Human  reason  is  limited  in  its  capacity  and  application. 
Man  is,  nevertheless,  entitled  to  its  free  use,  and  should  have  an  op- 
portunity  of  deciding  for  himself  in  regard  to  the  truth  or  falsity  of 
assertions.  He  should  be  allowed  to  link  one  thought  to  another  in 
logical  Order,  and  express  bis  thoughts  and  conclusions  in  bis  ovvn  lan- 
guage. In  most  of  our  schools  the  importance  of  this  internal  growth 
is  overlooked,  and  the  work  itself  altogether  neglected.  The  mathe- 
matical  branches  afford,  perhaps,  the  best  field  in  which  this  inde- 
pendence  of  investigation  and  discovery  can  be  exercised ;  yet,  in 
many  of  them,  the  old  routine  of  study  is  still  preserved. 

In  Geometry,  for  instance,  it  is  still  the  usual  custom  to  have  the 
pupils  learn  from  the  book  the  Solutions  of  problems  which  have 
already  been  solved  by  others.  No  attempt  is  made  to  have  them 
discover  the  relations  which  exist  between  the  lines  and  angles  under 
consideration ;  nor  are  they  led  to  make  original  application  of  gen- 
eral  principles  to  the  Solution  of  special  problems.  Often  they  simply 
commit  to  memory  the  language.  We  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that, 
when  this  is  the  case,  the  time  is  entirely  lost.  Again,  they  are  led 
to  comprehend  relations ;  but  the  inventive  faculties  not  being  called 
into  action,  the  knowledge  they  gain  is  rarely  assimilated,  but  remains 
as  something  outside  and  apart  from  themselves.  We  will  concede 
that  a  good  teacher,  even  under  this  System,  may  infuse  some  little 
life  into  his  teaching  by  frequent  and  varied  questioning ;  but  just  in 
Proportion  as  he  does  this,  he  lays  aside  his  old  System  and  approxi- 
mates  to  something  better. 

In  the  Pestalozzian  schools,  the  problems  of  Geometry  are  solved 
entirely  by  the  ingenuity  of  the  pupils.     A  preliminary  discussion  is 


187 

held  concerning  certain  first  truths,  and  a  foundation  is  laid  for  suc- 
cessful  work.  The  propositions  do  not  always  follow  those  of  tlie 
books,  but  are  such  as  grow  out  of  work  already  accomplished. 
After  the  first  few  steps  are  taken  such  strength  is  gained  that  the 
study  becomes  comparatively  easy  and  progress  very  rapid. 

Pupils  taught  in  this  way  accomplish  much  more  in  the  same  time 
than  under  the  old  System.  Each  problem  is  not  only  solved 
by  different  members  of  the  class,  but  frequently  the  same  pupil 
obtains  several  Solutions.  They  express,  in  their  own  language,  the 
result  of  their  own  investigations,  and  this  makes  a  much  deeper  im- 
pression  than  could  be  made  by  the  most  concise  and  perfect  argu- 
ment  learned  from  a  book.  The  imagination  suggests  the  means 
through  which  the  inventive  faculty  is  called  into  action ;  and  the 
subject,  viewed  in  all  its  relations  and  connections,  no  longer  remains 
outside,  but  enters  into  the  very  texture  of  mind  itself 

Use  of  Books. — It  is  frequently  alleged,  that  the  Pestalozzian  method 
discards  the  use  of  books;  and  the  maxim,   "A  child  should  never, 
be  told  what  he  can  find  out  for  himself,"  is  quoted  in  proof  of  the  l 
Charge.     We  think,  however,  that,  upon  a  critical  examination,  it  will  *| 
be  found  that  it  is  the  abuse,  and  not  the  use^  of  books  which  is  called  ' 
in  question  by  the  advocates  of   this  System.     When   the  Objective 
System  of  teaching  comes  into  general  use,  there  will,  undoubtedly, 
be  much  less  demand  for  text-books,  especially  for   primary  classes. 

It  is  evident,  from  the  examination  we  have  already  given  to  the 
manner  in  which  the  mind  must  grow,  that  the  first  lessons  of  child- 
hood  upon  every  subject  must  be  presented  through  the  senses.  Chil- 
dren  should  examine  things,  rather  than  read  about  them ;  they 
should  express  the  results  of  their  investigations  in  their  own  lan- 
guage, rather  than  adopt  that  which  they  find  in  books.  This  is 
especially  true  in  regard  to  the  natural  sciences,  which  can  never  be 
thoroughly  understood  without  illustration  or  experiment.  Even  the 
Clements  of  mental  and  moral  philosophy  are  better  taught  by  refer- 
ring  to  the  consciousness  and  experience  of  the  pupil  than  by  exam- 
ining  any  System  of  philosophy,  however  profound. 

In  all  these  branches,  after  the  Clements  are  learned,  books  may  be 
consulted  with  profit ;  provided  their  Statements  are  subjected  to  intel- 
ligent criticism,  and  not  accepted  unquestioned.  The  records  of  the 
past  are  preserved  in  language  and  transmitted  to  us  in  books,  and  it 
is  there  alone  that  we  can  find  the  results  which  mark  the  progres- 
sive march  of  civilization.  The  attitude  of  the  Pestalozzian  toward 
books  may  be  summed  up  in  a  single  sentence.     They  are  to  be  used 


188  PESTALOZZI. 

to  Supplement  experience,  and  to  supply  those  facts  that  are  not 
readily  accessible  by  direct  investigation.  But  every  jirinciple  of 
philosophy  utterly  condemns  any  system  of  Instruction  that  dogmat- 
ically  enforces  the  doctrines  of  authors  instead  of  leading  the  niind  to 
original  discovery. 

Moralitij  and  Religion, —  In  his  whole  work,  Pestalozzi  was  inspired 
by  the  highest  niorality  and  the  deepest  religious  convictions.  His  ear- 
nestness,  his  enthusiasm,  his  powerful  appeals  in  behalf  of  the  poor, 
the  lowly,  and  the  unfortunate,  came  from  sources  deeper  than  mere 
intellectual  conclusions.  His  utterances,  indeed,  came  directly  from 
his  heart ;  they  glowed  with  fervor,  and  were  delivered  with  passion- 
ate  eloquence ;  but  they  lacked  the  order  and  method  of  mere  intel- 
lectual achievements.  The  Impulse  which  caused  him  to  commence 
the  work  of  teaching,  at  a  time  of  life  when  most  men  are  preparing 
to  retire  from  active  duties,  was  an  intense  pity  for  a  class  of  unfort- 
unate children,  who  were  deprived  of  the  means  of  sustenance,  of 
protection,  and  of  opportunity,  by  the  march  of  invading  armies. 

Pestalozzi  never  claimed  to  be,  in  any  sense,  a  religious  teacher, 
and  yet  his  work  lays  the  foundation  of  all  spiritual  culture.  He 
shows  how  the  germ  of  conscience  in  the  mind  of  an  Infant  is  quick- 
ened  into  action,  and  what  must  be  the  successive  influences  which 
will  contribute  to  its  growth.  He  makes  all  education  culminate  in 
character,  and  by  this  Standard  he  measures  all  educational  processes. 
In  minds  so  quickened  and  cultured,  the  religious  teacher  finds  his 
ends  half  accomplished. 

The  child  requires  aid  in  the  unfolding  of  his  powers,  analogous  to 
that  which  the  plant  receives  from  the  warm  rays  of  the  sun,  and 
from  the  refreshing  rain.  But  where  shall  the  expanding  mind  first 
obtain  this  aid?  "Where,"  answers  Pestalozzi,  "but  in  the  sanctu- 
ary  of  the  domestic  circle,  where  God  has  placed  the  mother.as  the 
first,  best,  and  most  impressive  teacher  of  child hood."  The  foUowing 
extract  from  "  How  Gertrude  teaches  her  Children,"  very  fully  gives 
his  views  upon  the  origin  of  moral  perceptions : 

"I  can  not  end  my  reflections  without  answering  the  question: 
'  How  is  the  mode  of  worshiping  God  connected  with  the  principles 
which  I  have  adopted  for  the  development  of  mankind?'  I  try 
again  to  find  the  Solution  within  myself;  for,  when  I  reflect  upon 
how  the  idea  of  God  arises  within,  how  it  is  that  I  believe  in  God, 
that  I  feel  happy  in  His  love,  and  that  I  follow  His  commandments, 
I  find  that  the  feeling  of  love,  confidence,  and  obedience  must  be 
developed  within  myself  before  I  can  extend  them  toward  God.     I 


APPLICATION    OF    PESTALOZZl\s    METHOD.  189 

must  love  man,  confide  in  man,  obey  man,  before  I  can  be  elevated 
to  do  the  same  with  God.  How  can  a  man,  who  does  not  love  his 
brother  whom  he  sees,  love  his  Father  in  Heaven  whom  he  does  not 
see?  In  tracing  this  sentiment  to  its  primitive  source,  I  find  that  it 
arises  chiefly  from  the  relation  which  exists  between  the  mother  and 
her  Infant.  The  mother  is  obliged  by  the  power  of  instinct  to  nour- 
ish,  to  protect,  and  to  foster  her  child.  She  does  so  ;  she  satisfies  his 
wants ;  she  assists  him  in  his  weakness ;  and  the  child  feels  happy  in 
her  care.     The  germ  of  love  is  thus  developed. 

''An  object  which  he  never  saw  before  is  brought  before  his  eyes. 
He  Stares,  and  is  afraid.  The  mother  presses  him  closer  to  her  heart ; 
she  plays  Avith  him,  and  his  crying  gradually  ceases.  When  the  ob- 
ject reäppears,  she  again  takes  him  into  her  protecting  arms,  and  smiles 
^on  him.  He  does  not  cry  now,  biit  replies  to  the  smile  by  a  serene, 
confiding  look.     In  this  way  the  germ  of  confidence  is  developed. 

*'The  child  recognizes  his  mother,  and  he  likes  those  who  resemble 
her.  He  smiles  at  the  approach  of  his  parents,  and  loves  those  whom 
they  love,  and  those  who  love  him.  The  germ  of  love  toward  his 
brother  —  toward  mankind  —  is  developed. 

'^  The  iirst  inclinations  of  sensual  nature  are  opposed  to  obedience, 
the  cultivation  of  which  is  partly  a  work  of  art,  and  not  a  simple 
consequence  of  instinct,  though  clearly  connected  with  it.  As  love 
is  preceded  by  want,  confidence  by  fear,  so  obedience  is  preceded 
by  a  violent  desire.  The  child  will  cry  when  he  has  to  wait;  he 
will  be  impatient  before  obeying. 

*'  Patience  is  developed  before  obedience,  for  the  child  only  obeys 
through  patience.  This  virtue  also  must  be  developed  under  the 
guidance  of  the  mother.  The  child  must  wait  before  he  receives 
food ;  wait  to  be  carried  about ;  wait  for  an  obstacle  to  be  removed. 
Nature  is  inflexible  toward  the  impatient  desires  of  the  child.  In 
his  anger  he  will  beat  upon  wood  and  stone,  but  he  only  injures  his 
band  and  will  soon  desist.  In  a  similar  way  the  mother  has  to  be- 
come  inflexible  toward  his  irregulär  desires.  If,  when  he  rages  and 
screams,  the  mother  remains  firm,  he  ceases  to  cry  and  learns  to  sub- 
mit  his  will  to  others.     This  develops  the  first  germs  of  obedience. 

''Obedience  and  love,  gratitude  and  confidence,  develop  the  first 
germs  of  conscience.  The  child  at  last  receives  the  Impression  that 
it  is  not  right  to  resist  a  loving  mother ;  he  will  feel  that  she  is  not 
here  for  his  sake  alone,  and  that  every  thing  has  not  been  made  for 
him.  Together  with  this  discovery,  he  will  make  another  highly  im- 
portant  one, — that  he  is  not  in  the  world  for  his  own  pleasure  alone.  \\ 
The  first  germs  of  duty  and  right  are  thus  awakened. 


190  PESTALOZZI. 

*'  Hardly  has  he  become  vaguely  conscious  of  these  important 
truths,  when  the  world,  with  all  its  temptations,  opens  its  arms  to 
tear  him  from  those  of  his  pareiits,  and  seems  to  cry  triumphantly, 
'  Thou  art  mine.'  This  world,  which  is  now  spread  out  before  the  eye 
of  the  child,  is  not  God's  original  creation  :  it  is  a  world  opposed  to 
his  innocent  enjoyments ;  egotistic  in  its  means  and  aims ;  füll  of  con- 
tradiction,  violence,  presumption,  lies,  and  fallacies. 

"O  mankind!  here  at  the  transition  from  infancy  to  the  first  al- 
lurements  of  the  world,  when  the  tottering  ground  begins  to  give  way 
beneath  the  foot  of  the  child,  when  parents  cease  to  be  his  guardians 
—  here  at  this  critical  point,  thou  oughtest  to  assert  thy  power  by 
keeping  up  the  feelings  of  love,  gratitude,  confidence,  and  obedience; 
for  God  himself  is  embodied  in  these  feelings.  But  alas!  the  world 
seems  blinded  to  such  an  extent  that  it  has  hardly  any  heart  or 
sympathy  for  this  urgent  appeal.  Yet  it  can  not  be  assumed  that  the 
nobler  part  of  humanity  does  npt  see  the  necessity  of  an  uninter- 
rupted  series  of  means  of  development,  by  which  to  restrain  the 
egotism  of  our  reason,  through  the  preservation  of  the  purity  of  the 
heart,  and  to  subordinate  our  sensuous  impulses  to  conviction,  our 
appetites  to  benevolence,  and  to  the  influence  of  a  corrected  and  ele- 
vated will. 

"The  first  law  in  the  scale  of  progress  will  be  this:  Let  the  first 
Instruction  of  the  child  appeal  to  the  heart  and  never  to  the  head  and 
reason ;  let  the  second  Instruction  of  the  human  race  proceed  slowly 
from  the  exercise  of  the  senses  to  that  of  the  judgment ;  let  him  re- 
main  a  long  time  in  the  carfe  of  woman  before  he  is  intrusted  to 
man.  What  more  shall  I  say?  With  these  words,  O  Mother,  the 
eternal  laws  of  nature  lead  me  to  seek  thy  band.  I  can  retain  my 
love,  my  obedience,  my  innocence,  my  nobler  being  only  at  thy  side. 
Oh,  sanction  thou  the  transition  from  thy  heart  to  this  world !  Dear 
friend,  I  must  cease,  for  my  heart  is  moved,  and  I  see  tears  in  thy 
eyes.     Farewell." 

It  will  be  Seen  that  Pestalozzi  here  alludes  to  the  earliest  develop- 
ment of  the  religious  sentiment ;  but  it  must  not  be  inferred  that  he 
was  not  also  keenly  alive  to  the  influence  of  more  advanced  religious 
culture.  The  extracts  from  ''Leonard  and  Gertrude,"  already  quoted, 
show  this.  It  is  somewhat  singular,  however,  that  he  seems  to  ignore 
the  moral  and  religious  influence  of  the  father  of  the  family.  While 
we  are  ready  to  admit  that  the  mother  has  the  ad  van  tage  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  earliest  religious  impressions,  which  are  based  on 
love ;  yet  the  position  of  the  father  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  insure 
the  development  of  reverence,  duty,  and  obedience. 


APPLICATION    OF    PESTALOZZl'S   METHOD.  191 

It  is  qiiite  possible  that  this  position  resulted  from  observing  how 
little  interest  the  men  in  his  time  took  in  tbe  moral  welfare  of  their 
children.  But,  with  all  his  omissions,  it  must  be  evident  to  every  one 
that  he  intended  to  call  the  attention  of  the  public  to  the  necessity 
of  connecting  the  principles  of  true  religion  with  the  love  of  the  good, 
reverence  for  truth,  and  with  the  practice  of  duty  toward  God  and 
man. 

Had  we  time  and  space  it  might  be  both  interesting  and  profitable 
to  notice  the  intimate  connection  between  mental  and  moral  develop- 
ment — how  the  moral  sentiments  are  stimulated  and  strengthened  by 
the  free,  natural  development  of  the  mental  faculties.  We  can  only 
briefly  allude  to  some  of  the  most  prominent  of  these  manifesta- 
tions. 

/  In  Pestalozzi's  school,  it  was  a  matter  of  surprise  to  all  to  witness 
/  the  contentment  and  joyousness  of  the  pupils  while  engaged  in  their 
most  difiicult  work ;  and  the  surprise  was  still  greater  when  the  spirit 
Imanifested  was  contrasted  wdth  that  prevalent  in  the  schools  under 
,the  old  System.  The  pupils  evidently  regarded  the  teachers  as  their 
confidants  and  friends  instead  of  their  natural  enemies. 

The  cause  of  this  is  clearly  and  forcibly  stated  by  Morell :  "  Mem- 
ory, or  indeed  any  of  the  faculties,  when  properly  developed,  is  drawn 
into  the  ränge  of  human  duty.  To  overlook  any  engagement  or  to 
forget  an  Obligation'  shows  that  there  must  be  culpable  neglect  some- 
where  —  that  the  mind  has  failed  to  entertain  such  a  sense  of  the 
value  of  human  duty  as  to  induce  it  to  form  a  System  of  practical 
activity."  This  would  indicate  that  the  natural  and  harmonious 
working  of  the  faculties  produces  a  kind  of  honesty  of  feeling  and 
conviction,  in  which  the  deceiving  of  others  would  be  regarded  as  a 
self-deception. 

Corporal  Punuhnnent.  —  A  marked  feature  in  all  true  Pestalozzian 
schools  is,  the  infrequency  or  entire  absence  of  corporal  punishment. 
This  is  the  natural  result  of  a  System  that  provides  for  the  physical, 
intellectual,  and  moral  needs  of  the  pupils,  and  where  they  may  be 
Said  to  learn  to  love  while  loving  to  learn.  We  Avould  remark  here 
in  passing,  that  non-punishment  is  neither  a  law  nor  a  principle  of 
Pestalozzians,  as  is  often  erroneously  believed.  It  is  true  that  pun- 
ishments  are  of  extremely  rare  occurrence ;  but  this  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  each  child  is  kept  busy  in  the  Performance  of  actions  which 
tax  his  energies,  while  they  are  agreeable  to  his  feelings.  "  To  pre- 
vent  or  to  expel  an  evil,  there  is  no  better  way  than  to  open  the 
door  by  which  good  may  flow  in."     The  vital  forces  are  so  directed 


\/ 


192  PESTALOZZI. 

into  useful  Channels  that  happiuess,  as  well  as  mental  growth,  is 
secured ;  and  there  is  little  danger  of  the  irregulär  overflow  of  spir- 
its,  whicli  is  the  occasion  of  niost  of  the  trouble  experienced  with 
children.  AVith  the  exceptional  cases  where  restraint  becomes  nec- 
essary,  the  punishment  should  be  adapted  to  the  nature  of  the 
ofTense;  such  as,  withdrawing  privileges  and  abridging  liberty, 
where   they  have  been  abused. 

Pestalozzi  expresses  his  own  views  on  this  subject  as  follows:  "Inter- 
est  in  study  is  the  first  thing  which  a  teacher  should  endeavor  to  excite 
and  keep  alive.  There  are  scarcely  any  circumsmnces  where  the  want 
of  application  in  children  does  not.  proceed  from  a  want  of  interest ; 
and  there  are,  perhaps,  none  under  which  a  want  of  interest  does  not 
originate  in  the  mode  of  treatment  adopted  by  the  teacher.  As  a 
rule,  when  children  are  inattentive  and  ai)parently  take  no  interest 
in  a  lesson,  the  teacher  should  always  first  look  to  himself  for  the 
reason.  When  a  quantity  of  dry  matter  is  before  a  child,  when  a 
child  is  doomed  to  listen  in  silence  to  lengthy  explanations,  or  to  go 
through  exercises  which  have  nothing  in  themselves  to  relieve  or 
attract  the  mind,  there  is  a  tax  upon  the  spirits,  which  a  teacher 
should  abstain  from  imposing.  If,  from  the  imperfection  of  his  rea- 
soning  powers,  or  his  want  of  knowledge  of  facts,  the  child  is  not 
able  to  enter  into  the  sense  or  follow  the  chain  of  ideas ;  if  he  is 
made  to  repeat  wliat,  to  him,  is  sound  without  sense,  it  is  not  stränge 
that  he  becomes  restless  and  disobedient.  When  to  this  tedium, 
which  is  in  itself  punishment,  fear  is  added,  it  becomes  absolutely 

cruel. 

j  I  do  not  venture  to  assert  that  corporeal  punishment  is  inadmissible, 
but  I  do  objed  to  its  application  when  tJie  teacher  or  the  method  is  in 
fault  and  not  the  children." 

With  this  we  conclude  our  review  of  the  method  and  principles 
advocated  by  Pestalozzi.  We  trust  we  have  not  fallen  into  the  com- 
mon error  of  so  exalting  our  subject  as  to  be  blind  to  the  merits  of 
other  Systems  and  their  authors.  We  have  endeavored  to  conduct 
our  examinations  with  candor  and  fairness.  Raumer  says :  "  Pro- 
found  thoughts,  born  of  a  holy  love  and  under  severe  pain,  are 
thoughts  of  eternal  life,  and,  like  love,  shall  never  cease."  If  this  be 
true,  then  the  work  of  Pestalozzi,  born  of  a  charity  and  love  for  the 
poor  and  distressed,  yet  wide  enough  to  include  all  mankind;  nur- 
tured  under  suffering,  disappointment,  and  martyrdom ;  and  proclaim- 
ing  profound  and  universal  truths,  must  live  to  the  end  of  all  time, 
and  be  a  blessing  for  all  generations. 


Part  y 


SPREAD    OF   THE 


PESTALOZZIAN    SYSTEM. 


P.  13.  (193) 


CHAPTEK    I. 
SWITZERLAND. 

THAT  the  land  which  witnessed  the  experiments  of  the  great 
.school  reformer,  from  their  Initiation  to  their  ultimate  triumph, 
should  be  the  first  to  adopt  his"  methods  and  to  profit  by  the  princi- 
ples  which  he  established,  would  seem  natural.  "  This  expectation 
is  heightened  when  we  know  that  Pestalozzi  and  his  oldest  and 
most  honored  associates  were  natives  of  this  land,  and  that  all  stead- 
fastly  refused  the  invitations  of  foreign  princes  and  governments  to 
leave  the  country  of  their  birth. 

But  great  men  do  not  always  have  the  most  influence  in  their  own 
country.  The  saying  of  the  Master,  ''A  prophet  is  not  without 
honor  save  in  his  own  country,"  is  often  verified  in  the  history  of  the 
World.  There  is  always  danger  that  the  faults  and  weaknesses  of  a 
reformer,  in  his  struggles  with  existing  ideas  and  circumstances,  will 
obscure,  from  the  eyes  of  his  immediate  neighbors,  the  great  principle 
which  he  seeks  to  establish.  They  see  his  ideas  and  plans  through 
the  distorted  medium  of  prejudice  or  aversion ;  and  to  them  his' 
whole  work  appears  grotesque  or  unreal.  On  the  contrary,  those  who 
commence  their  survey  from  a  distance  have  their  vision  undisturbed 
by  local  and  ephemeral  causes,  and  are  able  to  form  a  more  just  esti- 
mate  of  the  value  and  importance  of  the  trutbs  enunciated. 

Again,  ideas  whose  füll  realization  are  essential  to  future  progress 
find  root  most  readily  in  soil  that  has  been  best  prepared  for  them. 
In  this  regard,  Switzerland  was  undeniably  far  behind  some  of  her 
more  powerful  and  more  fortunate  neighbors ;  and  several  causes  con- 
spired  to  prevent  the  rapid  spread  of  the  new,  progressive,  and  al- 
most  revolutionary  spirit. 

The  greater  part  of  the  Swiss  territory  lies  buried  among  the  Alps ; 
which,  with  the  fact  that  its  inhabitants  in  different  cantons  speak 
three  different  languages,  makes  even  the  interchange  of  ideas  a  mat- 
ter of  difficulty.  At  the  time  of  Pestalozzi,  the  people  of  the  Catholic 
cantons  were  under  a  bigoted  spiritual  control,  Avhich  discountenanced 

(195) 


196  PESTALOZZI. 

progress  or  chaiige  of  any  kind.  Even  in  the  Protestant  and  most 
progressive  cantons,  the  inhabitants  of  the  rural  districts  and  of  the 
cid  city  corporations  were  so  conservative  that  they  looked  with  sus- 
picion  upon  all  efforts  to  change  their  old  customs  and  Institution s. 

Under  these  circumstances,  is  it  a  matter  of  wonder,  that,  while 
the  schools  founded  by  Pestalozzi  at  Burgdorf  and  Yverdon  were 
receiving  enthusiastic  pupils  from  all  parts  of  Europe,  the  govern- 
ments  of  Switzerland  were  slow  to  incorporate  the  new  ideas  into 
their  Systems  of  public  instruction?  The  city  of  Zürich  was  an  ex- 
ception  to  the  general  rule,  and  was  the  one  truly  progressive  city 
among  the  Alps.  It  had  already  given  birth  and  substantial  aid  to 
the  great  reformer,  Zwingli,  and  to  the  philosophic  Lavater ;  and  now 
it  cordially  welcomed  and  supported  the  ideas  advanced  by  Pestalozzi. 

Among  the  men  who,  at  an  early  period  of  Pestalozzi's  labors,  vis- 
ited  Burgdorf,  was  Karl  August  Zeller  of  Würtemberg.  Inspired 
by  the  exercises  which  he  witnessed,  and  filled  with  a  fresh  enthusi- 
asm  for  the  cause  of  education,  he  resolved  to  put  the  new  ideas  into 
practical  execution.  His  first  experiments  were  made  in  the  Charity 
School  at  Tübingen,  in  1806,  the  report  of  Avhich  he  gave  in  detail 
to  that  noble  patroness  of  education,  Princess  Pauline  of  Detmold, 
of  whom  we  shall  hereafter  speak.  In  the  same  year,  at  Zürich,  he 
became  acquainted  with  Senator  Rusterholz,  who  had  a  scheme  for 
establishing  a  Normal  School  for  the  benefit  of  the  teachers  of  his 
canton.  Zeller,  to  aid  him  in  his  work,  gave  three  courses  of  lect- 
ures,  which  were  largely  attended  by  teachers  and  clergymen. 
Among  these  were  a  Catholic  priest  from  Luzerne  and  three  Canons 
from  the  convent  of  Kreuzungen,  who  w^ere  sent  there  by  Wessen- 
berg,  the  Bishop  of  Baden,  a  personal  friend  of  Pestalozzi.  One  of 
these  lectures  was  delivered  before  the  Swiss  Diet,  which  brought  the 
subject  prominently  before  the  confederation. 

Subsequently  Zeller  spent  some  time  with  Pestalozzi  at  Yverdon, 
and  afterward  entered  into  the  Service  of  the  king  of  Prussia. 

Owing  to  some  statements  derogatory  to  the  credit  of  the  Institution 
at  Yverdon,  the  teachers  in  Pestalozzi's  school,  led  by  Niederer,  peti- 
tioned  the  Diet,  then  assembled  (May,  1809)  at  Friburg,  to  appoint 
a  select  committee  to  examine  the  principles  and  practical  workings 
of  the  school  and  report  upon  the  same.  The  request  was  granted, 
and  Meriam  of  Basel,  Trechsel,  Professor  of  Mathematics  at  Berne, 
and  the  venerable  Father  Girard  of  Friburg,  were  commissioned  to 
visit  the  school  for  that  purpose.  The  visit  lasted  five  days,  and  its 
result  was  embodied  in  a  report,  which  was  transmitted  to  the  diet. 
The  report  was  so  favorable  to  the  principles  of  Pestalozzi  that  an 


SWITZERI.AND.  197 

official  vote  of  thanks  was  unanimously  accorded  to  him.  It,  how- 
ever,  contained  some  criticism  of  details,  of  which  his  enemies  took 
advantage.  This  caused  a  long  and  acrimonious  discussion,  in  which 
Niederer  took  the  leading  part  in  defense  of  the  school.  We  quote 
in  füll  the  concluding  passages  of  this  report : 

"  The  educational  methods  of  the  Institution  stand  in  very  imper- 
fect  connection  with  our  establishments  for  public  Instruction.  The 
Institution  has,  in  no  way,  aimed  at  establishing  harmonious  relations 
with  these  public  schools.  Determined,  at  any  price,  to  awaken  all 
the  faculties  of  the  children,  in  order  to  guide  their  development  ac- 
cording  to  its  own  principles,  it  has  taken  counsel  of  its  own  views 
only,  and  betrays  an  irresistible  desire  to  open  for  itself  new  j)aths, 
even  at  the  cost  of  never  treading  in  those  which  usage  has  estab- 
lished.  This  is,  perhaps,  the  right  way  to  arrive  at  useful  discover- 
ies ;  but  it  is  also  a  course  which  renders  harmony  impossible.  It  is 
a  pity  that  the  force  of  circumstances"  has  always  driven  Herr  Pesta- 
lozzi beyond  the  career  which  his  pure  zeal  and  fervent  charity  have 
marked  out  for  him.  Good  Intention,  noble  endeavors,  indefatigable 
perseverance,  should  meet,  and  always  will  meet,  with  justice.  Let 
US  profit  by  the  excellent  ideas  which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  the 
whole  undertaking ;  let  us  follow  its  instructive  examples ;  but  let  us 
also  lament  that  an  adverse  fate  must  hang  over  the  man  who,  by 
the  force  of  circumstances,  is  constantly  hindered  from  doing  what 
he  would  wish  to  do." 

This  report  describes  the  condition  in  which  all  Pestalozzian  schools 
will  be  placed,  whenever  they  are  required  to  connect  the  results  of 
their  training  which  is  based  upon  the  principle  of  development, 
with  those  of  one  based  upon  mere  mechanical  routine.  The  idea 
that  education  consists  exclusively  in  a  knowledge  of  Reading,  Writ- 
ing,  Arithmetic,  and  the  like,  is  much  too  narrow  for  the  advocates 
of  this  educational  reform.  They  can  use  the  old  materials  of  educa- 
tion, but  only  in  a  mann  er  essentially  new ;  and  they  aim  at  making 
each  lesson  in  school  a  step  in  the  gradual  unfolding  of  the  mental 
forces.  The  apparent  antagonism  between  the  two  Systems  can  only 
be  harmonized  when  the  public  generally  possess  broader  and  juster  ^ 
views  of  the  aim  of  education,  and  when  sufficient  time  has  elapsed 
to  judge  each  System  by  its  results. 

In  Switzerland,  as  in  every  other  republic,  the  first  impulses  to  any 
permanent  reform  have  come  from  the  people.  The  French  Revolu- 
tion of  July,  1830,  roused  the  men  of  that  country  anew  to  examine 
questions  of  reform  and  progress.  Up  to  that  time  they  had  been 
conteniÜd  to  live   under   their   old  aristocratic  constitutions,    which 


/ 


198  PESTALOZZI. 

only  grudgingly  recognized  the  rights  of  the  common  people.  Then, 
however,  a  new  era  commenced,  and  education,  especially,  feit  the 
benefit  of  the  spirit  which  had  been  aroused. 

For  many  years,  onerous  and  unfair  taxes  had  been  imposed ;  and 
the  money  collected,  instead  of  being  devoted  to  public  use,  had  been 
hoarded  for  future  contingencies.  The  reformers  of  that  period  saw 
clearly  that  the  question  of  their  liberties  was  intimately  connected 
with  universal  education,  They  therefore  devoted  these  accumulated 
funds,  and  money  derived  from  a  more  equal  System  of  taxation,  to 
the  formation  of  Normal  Schools,  High  Schools,  and  other  institu- 
tions  of  learning.  From  that  time  the  vocation  of  the  teacher  has 
been  more  honored ;  from  that  time  the  wealth,  intelligence,  and  po- 
litical  power  of  Switzerland  have  steadily  increased  to  an  extent 
which  has  made  that  country  respected  by  other  nations  of  Europe. 
Many  of  the  Principals  of  the  Normal  Schools  were  chosen  from  the 
associates  and  pupils  of  Pestalozzi;  as,  Krüsi,  Tobler,  Nabholz, 
Wehrli,  and  others,  who  possessed,  to  an  eminent  degree,  the  art  of 
communicating  knowledge. 

AYe  must  not  conclude  our  survey  of  the  development  of  the  edu- 
cational  spirit  in  Switzerland  without  alluding  to  the  work  accom- 
plished  by  Emanuel  von  Fellenberg,  a  friend  and  cotemporay  of 
Pestalozzi.  This  distinguished  educator  was  born  at  Berne,  in  1771. 
His  father  was  a  Senator,  and  his  mother  a  daughter  of  the  celebrated 
Dutch  Admiral,  Von  Tromp.  It  was  the  teaching  and  example  of  this 
pure  and  devoted  mother  that  inspired  young  Fellenberg  to  conse- 
crate  his  life  to  the  improvement  of  the  moral  and  social  condition 
of  his  fellow-men.  She  went  with  him  into  the  dwellings  of  the 
poor,  in  order  to  make  him  acquainted  with  their  misery  and  wants ; 
she  showed  him  the  blessings  of  benevolence,  when  accompanied  by 
kind  words  and  sympathizing  help. 

After  having  completed  his  College  studies,  and  made  his  debut  in 
the  legislative  assembly  of  his  native  canton,  Fellenberg,  in  1799, 
voluntarily  resigned  all  expectations  and  honors  from  the  political 
career  which  was  opening  before  him;  and,  stimulated  by  the  ex- 
ample of  Pestalozzi  and  by  his  own  predilections,  he  resolved  to  estab- 
lish  an  Industrial  School.  He  immediately  bought  two  hundred  acres 
of  barren,  uncultivated  land  at  Wylhof,  a  great  portion  of  which 
was  a  mere  swamp.  With  the  aid  of  young  men  from  the  lower 
classes,  he  began  to  convert  this  land  into  rieh  and  productive  fields. 
In  spite  of  the  sneers  of  his  genteel  friends,  who  were  shocked  to  see 
a  scion  of  the  aristocracy  engaged  in  such  low  pursuits,  he  succeeded 
beyond  his  own  expectations.     By  deep  drainage,  he  converted  the 


SWITZERLAND.  199 

portion  of  his  farm  next  the  river  into  good  pasture  land,  while  the 
arable  soil  was  constantly  improved.  In  a  few  years  a  rieh  growth 
of  wheat,  flax,  hemp,  etc.,  waved  over  the  former  wilderness.  By 
an  Inversion  of  the  original  name,  as  if  to  designate  the  change 
which  had  taken  place,  he  called  the  farm  "Hofwyl."  The  result 
obtained  encouraged  him  to  enlarge  the  accommodations  of  his  agri- 
cultural  school;  and,  aware  that  the  expenses  of  this  department 
would  at  first  exceed  his  income,  he  wisely  founded  a  scientific 
course  for  the  sons  of  the  wealthier  classes,  who  could  afford  to  pay 
liberally  for  their  tuition.  He  thus  carried  on  a  twofold  enterprise 
with  an  administrativ^e  power  and  skill  which  prevented  him  from 
committing  the  mistakes  of  Pestalozzi,  who  had  been  ruined  by  a 
similar  undertaking. 

At  the  head  of  the  argicultural  department,  he  placed  Wehrli,  a 
man  of  great  originality  and  simplicity  of  character,  to  whose  kind 
and  intelligent  treatment  of  the  pupils  much  of  the  success  is  to  be 
attributed.  The  pupils  did  not  belong  to  the  dregs  of  society,  which 
in  this  country  fill  our  so-called  Reform  Schools;  but  were  mostly 
sons  of  farmers  or  of  business  men,  who  wished  their  sons  to  become 
acquainted  with  the  details  of  agriculture  without  neglecting  their 
other  studies.  Although  not  more  than  half  the  eider  pupils  paid 
board,  Fellenberg  suffered  no  loss  thereby.  He  proved  successfuUy, 
that  pupils  who  enter  such  an  Institution  at  the  age  of  ten  years, 
and  remain  there  tili  they  are  twenty,  can,  by  their  work  alone,  de- 
fray  the  expenses  for  board,  clothing,  and  tuition,  and  at  the  same 
time  learn  a  useful  vocation.  More  than  this,  he  showed  how  such 
schools  may  be  made  self-supporting,  and  demonstrated  that  agricul- 
ture is  eminently  adapted,  in  its  various  bearings  and  applications, 
to  develop  the  noblest  powers  of  man.  He  increased  his  farm  to  six 
hundred  acres,  and  the  erection  of  new  and  tasteful  buildings  gave  to 
Hofwyl  the  appearance  of  a  small  flourishing  town;  and  it  had  all 
arisen  through  the  genius  of  one  man.  Thence  issued  improvements  \ 
in  the  implements  and  methods  of  agriculture.  The  introduction  of 
new  seeds  and  plants,  as  well  as  the  improvement  of  existing  species, 
became  of  great  importance,  and  thereby  the  whole  Community  was 
ultimately  benefited. 

During  forty-five  years,  assisted  by  his  sons  and  daughters,  Fellen- 
berg carried  on  his  school,  until,  in  1844,  he  was  called  to  his  final 
rest. 

This  Institution,  like  that  of  Pestalozzi,  attracted  the  attention  of 
governments  and  individuals,  and  received  patronage  from  nearly 
every  country  in  Europe.     The  greatest  benefit  derived  from  these 


200  PESTALOZZI. 

labors  of  Fellenberg  and  Wehrli  lies  in  the  Solution  of  that  question, 
what  shall  be  done  with  the  young  inniates  of  poor  and  work-houses, 
and  with  neglected  children  every-where  ?  They  have  shown  that 
this  class  of  unfortunates  may  be  separated  from  their  older  and 
more  wicked  associates,  and  put  under  the  care  of  humane  and  prac- 
tical  teachers,  who  will  attend  to  their  physical,  intellectual,  and 
moral  wants.  The  most  important  part  of  this  System  of  education 
is,  that  they  are  taught  early  to  devote  a  portion  of  their  time  to 
physical  labor,  and  that  during  school  life  they  also  learn  a  trade, 
which  will  secure  to  them  an  independent  means  of  support  in  after 
life.  The  kind  of  oecupation  to  which  each  shall  give  especial  atten- 
tion should  be  determined  by  his  own  natural  aptitude  and  liking. 
V  The  experiments  instituted  by  Fellenberg,  and  their  marked  success, 
led  to  the  establishment  of  similar  schools  in  other  countries.  To 
this  origin  may  be  traced  the  Poor,  Industrial,  and  Reform  Schools 
of  the  various  countries  of  Europe  and  of  the  United  States. 

The  first  idea  of  establishing  schools  of  this  kind  belongs  to  Pesta- 

Uozzi;    but  it   was  Fellenberg  who   first  proved  that  such  a  school 

Icould  be  self-supporting.  Their  work  was  not  antagonistic,  but  rather 
'complementary.  Each  performed  a  necessary  part  in  the  great  plan 
of  education. 

f  ''Pestalozzi's  principal  work,"  says  Biber,  ''was  to  foster  the  inter- 
nal growth  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  man.  He  asked,  not  for 
what  Society,  but  for  what  God  had  destined  the  child.  The  position 
of  each  pupil  in  his  establishment  was  accordingly  founded,  not  upon 
the  artificial  institutions  of  society,  but  upon  the  spirit  of  freedom 
and  brotherly  love." 

M  Fellenberg,  on  the  contrary,  endeavored  to  trace  the  shortest  and 
most  efficient  way  for  rendering  his  pupils  fit  members  of  society. 
The  education  they  received  was  a  practical  one :  every  child  was 
placed  in  his  establishment  exactly  in  that  rank  in  which  he  would 
hereafter  have  to  appear  in  life. 

If  these  principles  seem  antagonistic  it  is  in  form  rather  than  in 
substance.  If  a  child,  up  to  a  certain  age,  has  received  a  fair  and 
complete  education  according  to  Pestalozzi's  principles,  he  may  then 
well  turn  his  attention  to  the  practical  wants  of  society,  and  to  the 
rank  and  position  which  birth  or  circumstances  have  assigned  him. 
However,  we  can  not  deny  that  there  was  something  antagonistic  in 
the  characters  of  these  two  men,  which  more  than  once  prevented 
their  closer  intimacy.  Fellenberg,  although  superior  in  practical 
energy  and  learning,  and  guided  by  excellent  motives,  did  not  pos- 
sess  that  delicacy  of  sentiment,  that  overflowing  fullness  of  feeling, 


SWITZERLAND.  201 

which  induced  Pestalozzi  to  sacrifice  himself  and  all  he  possessed  for 
the  interests  of  a  great  cause.  Perhaps  from  early  associations  Fel- 
lenberg preserved  a  certain  love  of  command,  of  power,  and,  conse- 
quently,  of  seif,  which,  while  it  may  conduce  to  secure  Organization, 
obedience,  and  regularity,  is  little  fitted  to  the  details  of  teaching  the 
young,  and  often  wounds  or  destroys  the  susceptibilities  of  those  who 
'come  under  its  influence. 

He,  therefore,  possessed  few  intimate  friends,  while  Pestalozzi  was 
beloved  by  all,  and  almost  worshiped  by  some.  The  one  died  rieh ; 
the  other  struggled  against  poverty  all  his  life.  The  names  of  both 
will  be  honored  in  the  annals  of  history ;  for  both  have  left  living 
monuments  in  the  millions  of  children  who,  by  their  work  and  ex- 
ample,  have  been  saved  from  physical,  moral,  and  intellectual  star- 
vation. 


UNJVERSITY  O^ 

<^\UFOUNIA.  ^ 


CHAPTER    II. 

GERMANY. 

y  A  LTHOUGH  in  Germany  the  form  of  government  is  monarch- 
-^^  ical,  we  find,  as  in  a  republic,  that  all  reforms  are  first  intro- 
duced  by  the  private  acts  of  noble-minded  and  enthusiastic  thinkers. 
But,  while  in  a  republic  the  mere  ideas  are  left  to  make  their  own 
way,  slowly  and  painfully  combating  error,  in  a  monarchy  as  soon  as 
they  are  recognized  as  conducive  to  the  best  interest  of  the  nation, 
they  may  be  adopted  by  the  government,  and  immediately  reduced 
to  practical  use.  /;  In  the  centralized  governments,  unity  and  harmony 
of  action  can  be  secured  at  once ;  and  it  is  quite  possible  to  arrive 
at  satisfactory  results  sooner  than  by  the  isolated  efforts  of  private 
individuals  and  corporations.  It  may  be  questioned,  however,  whether 
the  greater  freedom  and  slower  growth  will  not,  in  the  end,  produce 
a  more  healthful  and  symmetrical  development. 

^  The  connection  of  the  educational  reform  in  Germany  with  the 
original  undertaking  of  Pestalozzi  can  only  be  distinctly  shown  by 
a  description  of  the  work  which  was  accomplished  by  private 
individuals  and  by  the  Government.  Prominent  among  the  earlier 
educational  missionaries,  who  were  instrumental  in  disseminating  Pes- 
talozzian  principles  in  Germany,  were  Johann  Ernst  Piamann  and 
Karl  August  Zeller,  the  latter  of  whom  we  have  already  noticed  in 
connection  with  the  reform  in  Switzerland.  Both  of  these  men  visited 
Burgdorf  in  1803,  attracted  thither  by  Pestalozzi's  writings  and  the 
fame  of  his  school. 

^  After  leaving  Burgdorf,  Piamann  engaged  in  several  educational 
enterprises ;  but  he  finally  went  to  Berlin,  where  he  established  an 
Institution,  which  soon  obtained  a  wide  celebrity,  and  became  a  Cen- 
ter for  the  dissemination  of  the  new  methods.  His  success  was  in- 
strumental in  determining  the  subsequent  action  of  the  Prussian  Gov- 
ernment in  this  matter.  He  published  several  works,  showing  the 
application  of  Pestalozzi's  principles  to  Language,  Geography,  an"d 
Natural  History. 
(202)  * 


GERMANY.  203 

Zeller  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  before  the  students  of  the 
Agricultural  School  at  Hofwyl,  under  the  charge  of  Von  Fellenberg. 
The  King  of  Würtemberg,  while  passing  through  Hofwyl,  listened 
to  these  lectures,  and  was  so  delighted  with  them  that  he  offered 
to  him  the  position  of  school  inspector  at  Heilbronn.  While  he 
was  considering  this  proposition,  overtures  were  made  him  by  Von 
Schröter,  the  Prussian  Minister  of  State,  and  a  Situation  was  offered, 
which  he  finally  accepted.  He  was  sent  to  Königsberg,  where 
he  gave  several  courses  of  lectures  to  assemblages  of  teachers,  clergy- 
men,  and  superintendents.  He  succeeded  in  arousing  an  intense 
interest  in  the  cause  of  education  in  a  part  of  the  Kingdom  where 
little  had  before  been  done  in  this  direction.  He  was  afterward 
commissioned  to  organize  the  Orphan  Asylum  at  Königsberg ;  and 
his  labors  in  this  Institution  were  crowned  with  such  marked  suc- 
cess,  from  the  improved  methods  which  he  introduced,  that  he  at- 
tracted  the  attention  of  educators  from  every  part  of  the  Kingdom. 
In  1809,  the  King,  Queen,  and  Minister  of  State  visited  the  school 
in  person,  and  were  so  well  pleased,  that  Zeller  received  the  hon- 
orary  title,   "  Schoolrath,"  —  Counselor  of  Schools. 

Among  the  German  States,  the  Kingdom  of  Würtemberg,  in  civil-  V 
ization  and  social  progress,  ranks  next  after  Prussia.  To  Gottlieb 
Denzel,  this  state  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  for  the  introduction  of 
Pestalozzian  principles  and  a  thorough  reform  of  the  schools.  In 
Order  to  make  himself  familiär  with  the  System  of  Pestalozzi,  he 
visited  both  Burgdorf  and  Yverdon.  In  1811,  he  was  appointed 
Principal  of  the  Normal  School  at  Esslingen,  and  he  presided  over 
this  school  for  nearly  twenty  years  with  eminent  success.  By  his 
numerous  writings  on  educational  topics,  his  influence  was  extended 
to  other  states.  In  1817,  he  assisted  in  organizing  the  school  System 
of  the  Duchy  of  Nassau,  and  in  establishing  a  Normal  Seminary  at 
Idstein. 

The  educational  movement,  of  which  the  work  of  these  men 
formed  a  part,  was  not  the  result  of  the  slow  and  deliberate  inves- 
tigations  of  a  period  of  peace ;  but  was  conceived  and  carried  out 
amidst  the  din  of  arms,  and  during  those  great  conflicts  which  shook 
Europe  to  its  center.  The  battle  of  Jena,  which  reduced  the  Prussian 
monarchy,  was  fought  in  1806 ;  and  for  several  years  the  domination 
of  Bonaparte  in  Germany  was  nearly  absolute.  The  humiliation  of 
the  Germans  was  complete.  Their  military  posts  were  in  the  hands 
of  the  conqueror.  The  only  portion  of  government  left  to  them  was 
the  control  of  such  civil  and  municipal  affairs  as  were  thought  not 
to  interfere,  in  any  manner,  with  military  matters.      National  inde- 


204  PESTALOZZI. 

pendence  was  at  an  end;  but  national  life  was  still  undiminished  in 
vitality,  and,  amidst  the  wrecks  of  the  old  governments,  the  seeds  of 
national  reconstruction  took  vigorous  root. 

During  this  dreary  period  of  subjugation,  political  apathy,  and  de- 
j  spair,  the  minds  of  the  ablest  and  best  of  the  German  philosophers 
jand  statesmen  were  engaged  in  devising  means  which  should  com- 
■  mence  the  work  of  raising  the  physical,  mental,  and  moral  character 
!,of  the  people,  so  that  in  future  struggles  they  might  command 
isuccess. 

The  plans  of  these  men  for  national  regeneration  were  at  first  con- 
sidered  as  ehimeras  of  the  Imagination ;  but  as  they  were  boldly  set 
forth  and  fortified  by  Illustration  and  argument,  they  finally  took  a 
strong  hold  of  the  public  mind.  The  philosopher  Fichte,  in  a  public 
lecture  at  Berlin,  promised  deliverance  to  the  Germans  through 
national  education,  which  he  considered  would  be  the  commence- 
ment  of  an  entire  reformation  of  the  human  race,  enabling  the  spirit  to 
obtain  a  complete  mastery  over  the  flesh.  To  the  question,  to  which 
of  the  existing  institutions  of  the  actual  world  he  would  give  the  duty 
of  carrying  out  this  new  plan  of  education,  Fichte  answered :  "To 
the  course  of  instruction  which  has  been  invented  by  Henry  Pesta- 
lozzi, and  which  is  now  successfully  carried  out  under  his  direction^ 
"  Would  that  the  State,"  he  said  to  a  Prussian  audience,  in  which 
were  several  high  officers  of  State,  "  could  look  its  present  peculiar 
Position  steadily  in  the  face,  and  acknowledge  to  itself  what  that  posi- 
tion  really  is:  would  that  it  could  clearly  perceive  that  there  re- 
mains  for  it  no  sphere  in  which  it  can  act  and  resolve  as  an  independ- 
ent  State  except  that  of  education ;  that  this  is  all  it  can  do,  and  the 
merit  of  doing  this  would  be  conceded  to  it  undiminished  and  unen- 
vied.  That  we  are  no  longer  able  to  offer  an  active  resistance  is  ob- 
vious  and  acknowledged  by  every  one.  How,  then,  can  we  defend 
our  national  existence  against  the  reproach  of  cowardice  and  an  un- 
worthy  love  of  life  ?  In  no  other  way  than  by  resolving  not  to  live 
for  ourselves,  and  by  acting  up  to  this  resolution;  by  raising  up  a 
worthy  posterity,  and  by  preserving  our  own  existence  in  order  to 
accomplish  this  object.  Our  constitutions  are  made  for  us;  the  alli- 
ances  which  we  are  to  form,  and  the  direction  to  which  our  military 
resources  are  to  be  applied,  are  indicated  to  us;  a  Statute  book  is 
lent  to  US ;  even  the  administration  of  justice  is  sometimes  taken  out 
of  our  hands;  and  we  shall  be  relieved  from  all  these  things  for 
several  years. 

"Education  alone  has  not  been  thought  of.     If  we  are  seeking  for 
an  occupation,  let  us  seize  this ;  for  we  may  expect  that  in  this  we 


GERMA^'Y.  /   Ij    y  ^iÖöf 

shall  be  left  undisturbed.     I  hope  —  perhaps  I  decwye  mysetty^.iR^t  as 
I  have  only  this   hope  to  live   fbr,  I  can  not  relinqulsjt  ifc  — that  l  }^  l 

shall  convince  some  Germans,  and  lead  them  to  see,  that  it'is  ^dupa-  j 
tion  alone  which  can  save  us  from  all  the  evils  by  which  we  are  ap- /  «' 
pressed. 

"It  is  a  favorable  circumstance,  that  our  need  will  have  rendered  *^ 

US  more  disposed  to  attentive  Observation  and  serious  reflection  than  \ 
we  were  in  the  days  of  our  prosperity.     Foreign  lands  have    other 

consolation  and  other  remedies.     It  is  not  to  be  expected,  that  they  \ 

will  pay  any  attention,  or  give  any  credit,  to  this  idea,  should  it  ever  '■ 

reach  them.     I  will  rather  hope,  that   it  will  be  a  rieh  source  of  ] 

amusement  to  the  readers  of  their  Journals,  if  they  ever  learn,  that  \ 

any  one  promises  himself  so  great  things  from  education."  ] 

A  letter  written  to  Pestalozzi    in   1808,   by  Nicolovius,   Prussian  1 

Minister  of  Education,  indicates  that  he,  too,  was  looking  to  educa-  I 

tion  for  the  nieans  of  national  regeneration.     "At  last,  my  venerable,  i 

unforgotten  friend,  I  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  some  rays  of  thy  j 
light  penetrate  into  the  schools  of  my  fatherland.*     What  I  have 

dreamed  at  thy  side,    what  we  have  discussed  in  letters,  will  soon  j 

become  realized  as  a  work  of  absolute  necessity.  With  us  also  the  ' 
destructive  march  of  events  has  ruined  every  thing,   yet  courageous 

men  are  beut  upon  reconstruction,  taking  care  that  the  new  order  of  l 

things  does  not  become  worse  than  the  old.     Oh,  help  us  to  foster  \ 

the  work  which  thou  hast  fbunded!  * 

"The  grain  of  seed  shall  become  a  tree  under  whose  shade  the 

people  will  rest.  Thy  friendship  is  sacred  to  me,  and  the  days  I  have  | 
passed  with   thee  have   the  same  influence  upon  me  which  ^  pious 

pilgrimage  has  upon  the  mind  of  a  believer.     May  thy  life  be  spared  j 

in  order  to  complete  thy  work  as  far  as  possible."  1 

To  further  show  how  deeply  the  principles  of  Pestalozzi  had  taken  ■ 

hold  of  the  German  mind,  in  this,  the  hour  of  its  deepest  afiliction,  ;; 
and  how  even  tlie  hereditary  rulers  turned  instinctively  to  the  humble 

republican  school-master  for  aid,   we  here   copy  portions  of  a  letter  i 

of  the  Princess  Pauline  of  Detmold  to  Pestalozzi :         .         .         .      .  \ 

"I  have  since  j 

received  the  second  letter  and  pamphlet  which  you  had  the  kindness  i 

to  write  in  answer  to  my  questions.     I   never  would  have  believed,  t 

that  some  hasty  lines  could  give  rise  to  a  little  work  of  such  decided  ^ 

merit.     Genius  requires  but  a  spark  in  order  to  kindle  a  clear,  pure,  | 

and  warmth-giving  flame.     I  confess  that  your  Compte  JRendu  (School  • 


Referrinor  to  the  work  of  Piamann  before  mentioned. 


J 


l'< 


206  pp:stalozzi. 

Keport)  has  interested  me  more  than  the  account  of  the  finances  of 
all  the  empires  in  Europe.  You  have  accomplished  a  great,  great 
work.  The  knowledge  of  this  will  hover  aroiind  you  like  a  friendly 
angel ;  and  if  your  life  should  become  elouded,  then  think  of  all  the 
teachers  and  pupils  who  have  become  better  and  more  useful  through 
your  example.  Thus  happiness  will  be  diffused  around  your  waning 
life,  and  the  tear  of  grief  will  turn  into  a  tear  of  joy.  Alas !  how 
rarely  do  we  find  in  these  selfish  times  an  enthusiasm  for  things 
which  only  the  future  can  bring  to  maturity.  .... 

I  think  of  you  as  the  educational  Howard  of  Switzerland  —  not 
belonging  to  one  canton  alone,  but  esteemed  and  sought  throughout 
the  World,  and  claimed  also  by  my  little  State. 

"  Belle ve  always  in  the  unchangeable  esteem  of  your  faithful 

"  Pauxine." 

The  enthusiasm  of  the  Germans  for  the  new  principles  was  not  con- 
/fined  to  school-teachers,  officers  of  State,  and  princes;  but  it  was  also 
/shared  by  men  of  science,  who  were  the  acknowledged  leaders  of 
'thought  in  their  respective  fields  of  labor.  Prominent  among  these 
A  was  Karl  Eitter,  a  man  whom  the  world  delights  to  honor  as  the 
'  y'Father  of  Physical  Geography."  Previous  to  his  acquaintance  with 
Pestalozzi,  Ritter  had  acquired  a  high  reputation  as  a  teacher  and  a 
man  of  science,  and  it  might  naturally  be  supposed  that  the  philos- 
opher, versed  in  all  the  erudition  of  the  schools,  could  impart  to  the 
comparatively  illiterate  school-master  more  than  he  could  receive 
from  him.  The  testimony  of  Ritter  himself  is,  however,  conclusive 
on  these  points,  as  he  expresses  his  indebtedness  to  Pestalozzi  in  no 
ambiguous  terms.  The  following  was  written  by  him  soon  after  his 
visit  to  Burgdorf:  "I  can  not  cross  the  Rhine,  your  noble  boundary, 
without  Casting  back  a  look  of  regret,  as  well  as  pleasure,  toward  the 
place  which  I  consider  as  a  second  home.  I  can  not  tear  myself 
away  from  the  mountain  scenery  of  Helvetia,  without  devoting  to 
thee,  O  Father  Pestalozzi !  a  silent  tear.  Oh,  may  it  teil  how  deeply 
I  feel  what  thou  art  to  humanity !  How  could  I  ever  forget  the  time 
I  have  spent  amidst  thy  new  creations!  Even  had  1  gained  nothing 
by  it,  but  a  renewed  faith  in  humanity,  I  would  consider  myself 
amply  repaid;  for  it  gives  me  strength  for  my  future  researches. 
My  ardent  desire  to  see  the  champion  and  martyr  for  truth  and  love, 
and  to  be  refreshed  at  the  living  source  of  his  life  and  example,  has 
been  granted ;  and  more  than  that,  I  have  feit  his  love,  and  I  return 
with  enlarged  feeling  into  the  cold  vortex  of  life.  I  thank  thee, 
venerable  father,  for  thy  affection.     It  has  taught  me  a  warmer  and 


GERMANY.  207 

purer  love ;  it  has  strengthened  my  arm  for  the  struggle  with  the 
World,  which  every  one,  to  whom  life  is  more  than  death,  must  un- 
dergo.  I  have  recognized  in  thee  that  pure  love  of  Christ  which 
warms  the  soul,  whilst  the  vitality  of  thy  ideas  enlightens  the  mind. 
Nevertheless,  I  am  sorry  to  say  that,  on  the  whole,  the  world  does 
not  yet  seem  ripe  for  thy  work ;  for  men  rarely  cherish  ideas,  but 
rather  theories  wherein  they  seek  their  ideal.  Your  method  has  un- 
doubtedly  also  its  ideal,  but  its  law  is  one  of  necessity  and  not  of 
fancy.  To  arrive  at  this  conviction  requires  either  a  mind  which 
descends  into  its  own  depths,  or  a  faith  which  is  able  to  remove 
mountains,  or  a  happy  mortal  who  has  had  the  privilege  of  spending 
a  year  with  Pestalozzi  and  his  friends.  But  blind  humanity  passes 
by  this  law,  which  is  great  because  simple,  tili  a  Newton  shows  its 
application  in  mathematical  science;  a  Lavoisier,  through  the  maze 
of  experimental  philosophy ;  and  a  Pestalozzi,  in  the  wider  field  of 
.human  development. 

"I  embrace  thee  respectfully,  as  a  child  embraces  his  father;  and 
hope  to  be  remembered  by  thee  even  at  a  distance. 

"Basel,  1808.  Thy  Ritter." 

In  another  letter,  written  from  Berlin,  Ritter  dwells  upon  his  re- 
peated  but  unsuccessful  attempts  to  see  Humboldt,  who  had  just  re- 
turned  from  his  tour  in  America,  and  to  w^hom  he  wished  to  commu- 
nicate  Pestalozzis  ideas,  which  he  thought  could  even  influence  the 
vast  and  comprehensive  mind  of  that  great  philosopher  of  nature. 
Drawing  a  parallel  between  these  two  men,  Ritter  says  :  "  Humboldt 
explored  the  greatest  depths  as  well  as  the  most  prominent  heights  of 
our  globe ;  he  viewed  it  in  all  its  mathematical,  physical,  and  chem- 
ical  relations ;  he  even  went  round  it  in  order  to  make  himself  ac- 
quainted  with  all  the  possible  forms  of  nature,  and  to  find  the  law  by 
which  all  the  phenomena  are  linked  together.  He  is  a  genius  in  the 
inductive  method  of  proceeding  from  the  external  to  the  internal; 
while  Pestalozzi  arrives  at  that  law  by  a  deduction  from  the  internal 
to  the  external.  Humboldt  is  a  noble  man,  and  although  some  jeal- 
ousy  might  arise  in  seeing  two  men  arrive  at  the  same  result  in  op- 
posite  ways,  yet  I  am  sure  he  would  be  greatly  pleased  to  take  notice 
of  the  vast  bearing  of  Pestalozzi's  ideas." 

In  1808,  through  the  intercession  and  influence  of  Queen  Louisa, 
the  Prussian  Government  sent  twelve  young  men  to  Yverdon  to  be- 
come  acquainted  wath  the  details  of  Pestalozzi's  principles  and  meth- 
ods,  so  that  they  might  be  introduced  more  rapidly  into  the  Prussian 
schools.      The    students   were   selected  with  great  care  by  Süvern, 


208  PESTALOZZI. 

Minister  of  Education,  and  before  their  departure  he  addressed  them 
upou  the  subject  of  their  mission.  In  this  address  he  told  them: 
"The  object  in  sending  you  to  Pestalozzi  is,  not  merely  that  you 
may  study  the  external  or  formal  part  of  this  System,  or  to  acquire 
skill  in  teaching,  but  that  you  may  warm  yourselves  at  the  sacred 
fire  which  is  glowing  in  the  bosom  of  that  man,  who  is  füll  of  power 
and  love;  that  you  may  walk  with  a  similar  spirit  in  the  path  of 
truth  and  in  the  Observation  of  the  laws  of  nature ;  that  you  may 
become  simple  as  children,  in  order  to  obtain  the  key  with  which  to 
open  the  sacred  temple  of  childhood;  that  you  may  never  forget, 
that  a  knowledge  of  the  elementary  part  of  each  science  is  the  most 
difficult  to  obtain,  since  it  requires  a  thorough  perception  of  the 
reality  of  things ;  that  the  characteristic  feature  of  the  Pestalozzian 
method  is  the  fact  of  its  being  equally  adapted  for  scientific  research 
and  for  populär  application,  since  it  does  not  spoil  the  desire  for 
knowledge  by  light  and  unwholesome  food,  but  strengthens  it  by 
vigorous  nourishment." 

These  students  made  excellent  use  of  their  time  at  Yverdon,  and 
upon  their  return  to  Prussia  they  amply  repaid  their  country  for 
benefits  received  by  giving  it  better  Instruction.  Among  them  were 
Harnisch,  Henning,  Dreist,  and  Kawerau,  who  did  excellent  Service 
as  Principals  of  Normal  and  other  schools. 

By  these  means  the  schools  of  Germany  were  speedily  organized 
upön  a  new  basis,  and  the  thrill  of  a  new,  vigorous  life  was  feit 
from  one  extremity  of  the  land  to  the  other.  Napoleon,  in  the  pride 
and  insolence  of  his  power,  scornfully  turned  from  the  philanthropist, 
who  pleaded  for  philosophic  and  universal  education,  saying:  *'I  have 
no  time  now  to  occupy  myself  with  the  A,  B,  C." 

Germany,  prostrate  beneath  the  heel  of  the  conqueror,  adopted  the 

principles  so  ignominiously  spurned,  and  "  The  stone  which  the  build- 

i    ers  rejected"  became  the  head-stone  of  the  corner.     Sixty  years  haye 

I   passed  away,  and  Germany,  vital  with  life  and  energy  in  every  part, 

(once  more  grapples  with  her  great  adversary.  In  one  short,  sharp, 
and  decisive  campaign,  the  military  power  which  for  nearly  a 
Century  had  been  the  terror  of  Europe  is  broken;  and  the  discovery 
is  made  that  much  within  the  outer  crust  is  hoUow,  and  that  neglect 
,  of  the  Clements  of  knowledge  deprives  a  nation  of  the  essential  con- 
'  ditions  of  true  greatness  and  power.  When  an  American  asked  Von 
Moltke  what  was  the  most  formidable  weapon  upon  which  Germany 
relied  for  her  offensive  movements,  he  answered  by  pointing  to  a 
common  soldier,  drawing  a  map  of  France  upon  the  table  before 
him.     In  this  last  great  conflict,  we  see  that  the  influence  proceeding 


GERMANY.  209 

from  the  seemingly  impracticable  dreamer  of  Neuhof  has  been  suffi- 
cient  to  reverse  the  current  of  defeat  and  change  the  balance  of 
power  in  Eiirope. 

When  the  arrogance  of  Schmid  caused  the  resignation  of  the 
German  teachers,  they  found  immediate  employment  in  diiferent 
parts  of  Germany ;  and  thus  the  destruction  of  the  school  at  Yver- 
/don  caused  a  wider  dissemination  of  Pestalozzian  methods  than  could 
have  been  accomplished  in  any  other  manner.  Araong  these  teach- 
ers who  became  famous  in  their  native  land  were  Doctor  Blochmann, 
the  director  of  a  large  school  at  Dresden ;  Nabholz,  principal  of  a 
Normal  School  and  an  enlightened  Catholic,  who  espoused  with  his 
whole  heart  these  and  other  liberal  and  progressive  ideas ;  Ladomus, 
Schacht,  and  Steiner,  mathematicians,  who  were  not  only  teachers, 
but  discoverers  in  their  respective  branches. 

Some  years  ago,  in  his  travels  through  Germany,  the  author 
formed  an  acquaintance  with  many  of  these  men,  who  were  then 
holding  important  situations;  and  their  invariable  testimony  was, 
that  they  considered  their  success  as  teachers  and  educators  to  be 
chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  due  to  the  new  and  enlarged  ideas  in  regard 
to  the  nature  of  education  which  they  received  during  their  stay 
with  Pestalozzi,  and  to  the  spirit  and  enthusiasm  which  they  imbibed 
in  his  school. 

We  will  conclude  our  summary  of  the  men,  who  introduced  the 
method  of  Pestalozzi  into  Germany,  with  a  notice  of  the  work  of 
the  eminent  educator,  Von  Türk.  His  labors  in  the  cause  of  hu- 
manity  have  been  of  such  marked  character  that  they  deserve 
more  than  a  passing  notice ;  and  we  are  fortunate  in  being  able  to 
lay  before  our  readers  an  account  of  them  from  the  pen  of  Horace 
Mann,  who  visited  him  in  1848 : 

"At  the  head  of  a  private  Orphan  Asylum  in  Potsdam  is 
the  vetierable  Von  Türk.  According  to  the  laws  of  the  country,  he 
is  a  nobleman.  His  talents  and  acquisitions  were  such,  that  at  a 
very  early  age  he  was  elevated  to  the  Beuch.  He  officiated  as  judge 
for  fourtecn  years;  but,  in  the  course  of  time,  so  many  criminal 
cases  were  brought  before  him  for  adjudication,  whose  only  origin 
was  so  plainly  referable  to  early  neglect  in  the  culprits'  education, 
that  the  noble  heart  of  the  judge  could  no  longer  bear  to  pronounce 
senten'ce  of  condemhation  against  the  prisoners ;  for  he  looked  upon 
them  as  men,  who,  almost  without  a  paradox,  might  be  called 
'guiltless,  offenders.' 

''While  holding  the  office  of  judge,  he  was  appointed  school -in- 
P.  H. 


210  PESTALOZZI. 

spector.  The  paramount  importance  of  the  latter  office  grew  upon 
his  mind,  as  he  executed  its  duties,  until  at  last  he  came  to  the  füll 
conception  of  the  grand  and  sacred  truth :  how  much  more  intrin- 
sically  honorable  is  the  vocation  of  the  teacher,  who  saves  from 
crime  and  wrong,  than  that  of  the  raagistrate,  who  waits  tili  they 
are  committed  and  then  avenges  thern. 

*'  He  immediately  resigned  his  office  of  judge,  with  its  life  tenure 
and  salary ;  traveled  to  Switzerland,  where  he  placed  himself  under 
the  care  of  Pestalozzi ;  and  after  availing  himself  for  three  years  of 
the  Instruction  of  that  celebrated  teacher,  he  returned  to  take  charge 
of  an  Orphan  Asylum.  Since  that  time  he-  has  devoted  his  whole 
life  to  the  care  of  the  neglected  and  destitute.  He  lives  in  a  piain 
and  inexpensive  style  like  our  well-to-do  farmers  and  mechanics,  and 
devotes  his  income  to  the  welfare  of  the  needy.  I  was  told  by  his 
personal  friends,  that  he  not  only  deprived  himself  of  the  luxuries  of 
life,  but  submitted  to  many  privations  in  order  to  appropriate  his 
small  income  to  others  whoni  he  considered  more  needy  than  himself; 
and  that  his  wife  and  family  cheerfully  shared  in  his  privations  for 
the  sarae  object.  To  what  extent  would  our  own  Community  sympa- 
thize  with  or  appreciate  the  act,  if  one  of  the  judges  of  our  higher 
Courts  should  resign  an  office  of  honor  and  profit,  to  become  the 
instructor  of  children? 

"  Even  now,  in  1843,  when  the  once  active  and  vigorous  frame  is 
bending  beneath  the  weight  of  years,  he  employs  himself  in  teach- 
ing  agriculture,  together  with  the  branches  commonly  taught  in 
Prussian  schools,  to  a  class  of  orphan  boys.  What  warrior,  who 
rests  at  last  from  the  labors  of  the  tented  field  after  a  victorious 
life ;  what  statesman,  whose  name  is  familiär  in  all  the  courts  of  the 
civilized  Avorld;  what  orator,  who  attracts  toward  himself  tides  of 
men  wherever  he  may  move  in  his  splendid  course  —  what  one  of  all 
these  would  not,  at  the  sunset  of  life,  exchange  his  fame  and  his 
clustering  honors  for  that  precious  and  abounding  treasury  of  holy 
and  beneficent  deeds,  the  remembrance  of  which  this  good  old  man 
is  about  to  carry  into  the  other  world?  Do  we  not  need  a  new 
spirit  in  our  Community,  and  especially  in  our  schools,  which  shall 
display  only  objects  of  virtuous  ambition  before  the  eyes  of  our  em- 
ulous  youth ;  and  teach  them,  that  no  height  of  official  Station  nor 
splendor  of  professional  renown  can  equal,  in  the  eye  of  Heaven  and 
of  all  good  men,  the  true  glory  of  a  life  consecrated  to  the  welfare 
of  mankind?" 

A  work  upon  the  present  condition  of  the  schools  of  Prussia  by 
Dr.  Harnish  mentions  the  visits  of  Victor  Cousin,  Kay,  Shuttleworth, 


GERM  AN  Y.  211 

Horace  Mann,  and  Professors  Bache  and  Stowe,  as  indicating  a  new 
era  in  the  history  of  civilization.  These  men,  representatives  of  the 
most  enlightened  nations  of  the  world,  unanimously  report  that  in 
Germany  they  found  a  System  of  schools  most  worthy  of  imitation ; 
and  a  large  share  of  this  excellence  they  attribute  to  the  impulse 
given  them  by  the  principles  of  Pestalozzi. 

A  question  of  great  interest,  and  now  often  asked,  is,  ''  How  far  do 
the  German  schools  deserve  the  name  Pestalozzian  ?  "  A  brief  sur- 
vey  of  the  field  will  afford  a  sufficient  answer.  In  the  Elementary 
and  Normal  Schools  the  methods  of  Pestalozzi  are  generally  adopted, 
though  they  have  undergone  various  modifications  to  suit  the  spirit 
of  the  times  and  the  advancing  intelligence  of  the  age.  The  Uni- 
versities,  Military  Schools,  and  Gymnasiums  have  feit  the  impulse 
of  the  great  reform  principally  in  the  superior  teachers  which  have 
since  been  employed. 

It  matters  little  whether  the  name  Pestalozzian  is  still  used  or  has 
been  merged  into  one  of  wider  application,  adapted  to  the  require- 
ments  of  the  age :  the  principles  remain  the  same,  and  to  these  princi- 
ples the  German  schools  of  to-day  owe  a  large  share  of  their  reputa- 
tion  and  excellence. 

The  centennial  anniversary  of  the  birthday  of  Pestalozzi  was  cele- 
brated  throughout  Germany  and  Switzerland  on  the  12th  of  January, 
1846.  Thousands  of  teachers  assembled-at  various  educational  centers 
to  listen  to  the  story  of  the  great  reformer  from  the  lips  of  his  pupils 
and  friends,  who  were  then  the  honored  and  acknowledged  leaders  of 
educational  movements.  In  many  places  the  schools  w^ere  closed,  and 
the  bells  rung  as  in  commemoration  of  some  event  of  national  im- 
portance,  and,  at  the  same  time,  very  dear  tb  the  hearts  of  the  peo- 
ple. 

The  spontaneous  gatherings  of  teachers  and  friends  of  education,  so 
universal  throughout  the  land,  was  a  higher  testimony  of  the  estima- 
tion  in  which  he  was  held  than  even  the  eulogies  so  lavishly  bestow^ed 
by  his  friends.  A  remarkable  feature  of  the  day  was  the  endeavor 
to  raise  a  large  sum  by  subscription  as  a  memorial  fund  —  not  for 
the  purpose  of  erecting  a  monument  of  stone  or  brass,  but  for  found- 
ing  asylums  for  orphans  and  friendless  children.  In  several  places 
this  Philanthropie  scheme  was  carried  into  successful  execution,  show- 
ing  that  the  spirit  which  animated  Pestalozzi  in  his  lonely  struggles 
with  poverty  at  Neuhof  was  still  vital  in  the  hearts  of  his  disciples 
and  successors. 

To  those  who  object  to  these  methods  on  account  of  their  source, 


212  PESTALOZZI. 

we  recommend  the  following  extract  f rom  the  report  of  Horace  Mann : 
*'If  the  Prussian  school-master  has  better  methods  of  teaching  Read- 
ing,  Writing,  Grammar,  and  Arithmetic,  so  that  in  half  the  time  he 
produces  greater  and  better  results,  surely  we  may  adopt  his  niodes 
of  teaching  these  elements,  without  adopting  his  notion  of  passive 
obedience  to  government.  By  the  ordinance  of  nature,  the  human 
faculties  are  substantially  the  same  all  over  the  world;  and  hence, 
the  best  means  for  their  development  and  growth  in  one  place  must 
be  substantially  the  best  for  their  development  and  growth  elsewhere. 
If  a  moral  power  over  the  affections  and  understandings  of  the  peo- 
ple  may  be  turned  to  evil,  may  it  not  also  be  employed  for  the  high- 
est  good  ?  Ä  generous  and  imparticd  viind  does  not  ask  whence  a  thing 
comes,  hut  what  it  is.  Those  who,  at  the  present  day,  would  reject  an 
improvement  because  of  the  place  of  its  origin,  belong  to  the  same 
school  of  bigotry  with  those  who  inquired  if  any  good  could  come  out 
of  Nazareth ;  and  what  infinite  blessings  would  the  world  have  lost 
had  that  party  been  punished  by  success." 


CHAPTER    III. 
FKANCE,  SPAIN,  AND  KUSSIA. 

IT  may  be  true,  indeed,  that  a  natural  method  of  Instruction 
is  not  limited  to  any  climate,  nationality,  creed,  or  language, 
and  that  human  nature  is  essentially  the  same  every-where,  and 
follows  the  same  laws  of  development;  yet  it  is  equally  true  that 
these  conditions  may  greatly  accelerate  or  retard  the  füll  appreciation 
and  adoption  of  the  true  method.  It  is  obvious  that  Pestalozzi  and 
his  principal  associates  had  a  much  greater  personal  influence  in 
Switzerland  and  Germany  than  elsevvhere.  They  were  all  Swiss  by 
birth,  inheriting  the  peculiarities  of  that  nation;  and  since  all  spoke 
the  German  language,  their  ideas  spread  rapidly  wherever  that  lan- 
guage was  spoken.  The  System,  whose  seeds  were  the  fruits  of  Ger- 
man culture,  took  deep  root  in  German  soil,  and  grew  to  fair  pro- 
portions.  v 

In  France,  however,  the  conditions  were  quite  different.  Another 
language  was  spoken,  and,  at  the  time  when  Pestalozzi  was  developing 
his  System,  the  military  spirit  so  overshadowed  every  other  interest 
that  there  was  little  opportunity  for  the  spread  of  ideas  which  had  for 
their  object  "  peace  and  good-will  to  all  men."  The  despotism,  which 
claimed  and  enforced  the  right  to  control  the  actions  of  the  people  in 
all  particulars,  produced  a  general  apathy  in  regard  to  matters  of  ed- 
ucation.  When  the  reäction  took  place,  and  France,  exhausted  and 
nearly  impoverished  by  war,  commenced  anew  a  career  of  peace,  her 
primary  schools,  unfortunately,  were  placed  under  ecclesiastical  control, 
and  did  not  attain  a  high  reputation,  or  exert  a  healthful  influence 
upon  the  character  of  the  people.  The  warfäre  between  freedom 
and  ecclesiasticism,  in  regard  to  the  control  and  management  of  the 
schools,  is  still  going  on ;  but  there  are  signs  that  regenerated  France 
will  burst  the  fetters  which  have  so  long  bound  her  band  and  foot, 
and  will  enter  a  new  career  of  progress,  in  which  education,  based 
upon  the  laws  of   human  development,   shall  be  universal  and  free. 

If  a  history  of  science   should  be   written,  France  would  have  a 

(213) 


214  PESTALOZZI. 

noble  record,  since  in  many  of  its  departments  she  has  led  the  world ; 
and  it  is  only  since  the  commencement  of  the  present  centary  that  in 
her  primary  instruction  she  has  fallen  behind  her  great  rival,  Ger- 
many.  In  this  work,  however,  we  have  only  to  show  how  far  the 
ideas  of  Pestalozzi  penetrated  this  country,  and  what  was  their  effect 
upon  the  schools. 

;^His  work  was  entirely  neglected  by  the  Government,  but  received 
sorae  attention  from  private  individuals  in  that  country.  General 
Julien,  a  companion  of  Bonaparte  in  the  campaign  of  Egypt,  came  to 
Yverdon,  and  studied  the  methods  practiced  there.  After  a  füll  in- 
vestigation,  he  gave  the  results  to  the  French  public  in  two  com- 
mendatory  reports  entitled  Esprit  de  la  MetJwde  d'Education  de  Pesta- 
lozzi, and  Freds  de  V Institut  d' Yverdon  en  Siiisse.  Through  the  influ- 
ence  of  these  reports,  thirty  pupils  went  from  France  to  Yverdon. 
AVhether  the  establishment  of  the  first  French  Normal  Scliool  at 
Strasburg,  in  1810,  was  a  result  of  this  action,  we  are  unable  to  teil. 
We  know,  however,  that  the  idea  of  training  teachers  for  their  voca- 
tion,  which  was  so  ardently  entertained  by  Pestalozzi,  has  been 
made  a  part  of  the  educational  systera  of  France,  through  the  influ- 
ence  of  Victor  Cousin  and  M.  Guizot,  both  eminent  scholars  and 
statesmen. 

Neither  the  Napoleonic  code  for  the  schools,  with  its  centralizing 
tendencies,  nor  the  reäctionary  doings  of  the  Bourbons,  who  came 
after,  had,  in  any  way,  been  successful  in  elevating  the  moral  and 
intellectual  Standard  of  schools  and  of  their  teachers.  After  the 
despotism  of  Charles  X.  was  ended,  in  1830,  a  more  intelligent  spirit 
was  manifested  in  regard  to  matters  of  education,  and  Victor  Cousin 
was  appointed  Minister  of  Public  Instruction.  He  first  made  him- 
self  acquainted  with  the  best  school  Systems  of  Europe,  giving  an  ex- 
tensive examination  to  the  schools  of  Prussia;  while  his  colleague, 
M.  Cuvier,  visited  those  of  Holland,  most  of  which  had  been  organ- 
ized  substantially  upon  Pestalozzian  principles. 

Cousin's  .report  abounds  in  important  and  practical  suggestions. 
He  found  the  schools  of  Germany  so  superior  to  those  of  France, 
that  he  recommended  a  reconstruction  on  German  modeis.  Thus 
we  see  that  France,  thirty  years  after  rejecting  the  principles  offered 
by  her  nearest  neighbor,  Switzerland,  was  obliged  to  obtain  the  same 
at  second  band,  through  Germany. 

The  close  of  this  report  seems  like  an  apology  for  studying  the 
school  System  of  a  rival  nation :  "I  have  now  arrived  at  the 
termination  of  this  long  report.  May  it  be  of  use  to  you  in 
the  important  work  which  now  engages   your   attention.     My  illus- 


FRANCE,  SPAIX,  AND    RUSSIA.  215 

trious  colleague,  M.  Cuvier,  has  already  presentecl  to  France  the  plan 
of  primary  Instruction  in  Holland.  The  experience  of  Germany, 
and  particularly  of  Prussia,  ought  not  to  be  lost  upon  us.  National 
rivalries  or  antipathies  would  here  be  completely  out  of  place.  The 
true  greatness  of  a  people  does  not  consist  in  borrowing  nothing  from 
others ;  but  in  borrowing  from  all  whatever  is  good,  and  in  perfecting 
whatever  it  appropriates.  I  am  as  great  an  enemy  as  any  one  to 
artificial  imitations ;  but  it  is  mere  pusillanimity  to  reject  a  thing  for 
no  other  reason  than  that  it  has  been  thought  good  by  others.  With 
the  promptitude  and  justness  of  the  French  mind,  and  the  inde- 
structible  unity  of  our  national  character,  we  may  assimilate  all  that 
is  good  in  other  countries  without  fear  of  ceasing  to  be  ourselves. 
Placed  in  the  center  of  Europe,  possessing  every  variety  of  climate, 
bordering  on  civilized  nations,  and  holding  perpetual  intercourse  with 
them,  France  is  essentially  cosmopolitan ;  and  this  is  the  main  source 
of  her  great  influence.  Besides,  civilized  Europe  now  forms  one 
great  family.  We  constantly  Imitate  England  in  all  that  concerns 
outward  life,  the  mechanical  arts,  and  physical  refinements.  Why, 
then,  should  we  blush  to  borrow  something  from  kind,  honest,  pious, 
learned  Germany  in  what  regards  inward  life  and  the  nurture  of  the 
soul?" 

The  just  and  intelligent  System  advocated  by  Cousin  was  only 
partly  carried  into  execution ;  and  primary  education  in  France  never 
received  as  much  attention  as  in  Germany. 

Cousin's  great  successor,  Guizot,  endeavored  to  perfect  the  System 
which  was  so  ably  commenced.  In  one  of  his  addresses  to  the  school 
directors  of  France,  we  find  the  following  passage,  which  not  only 
contains  excellent  advice,  but  breathes  the  very  spirit  which  animated 
Pestalozzi : 

*'It  can  not  be  too  often  repeated,  that  it  is  the  master  who  makes 
the  school;  and,  indeed,  what  a  well  assorted  union  of  qualities  is 
required  to  constitute  a  good  school-master !  He  ought  to  know  much 
more  than  he  is  called  upon  to  teach,  that  he  may  teach  with  intel- 
ligence  and  with  taste.  Though  he  lives  in  a  humble  sphere,  he 
should  have  a  noble  and  devoted  mind,  that  he  may  preserve  a  dig- 
nity  of  sentiment  and  deportment,  without  which,  he  will  never  ob- 
tain  the  respect  and  confidence  of  patrons  and  pupils.  He  should 
possess  a  rare  mixture  of  gentleness  and  firmness ;  for,  inferior  though 
he  be  in  Station  to  many  individuals  in  the  Community,  he  ought  to  be 
the  obsequious  servant  of  none.  He  should  be  a  man,  not  Ignorant 
of  his  rights,  but  thinking  much  more  of  his  duties,  showing  all  a 
good  example,    and  serving  all  as   counselor  —  a  man  not  given  to 


216  PESTALOZZI. 

chaiige  his  condition,  but  satisfied  with  bis  Situation  because  it  gives 
bim  power  to  do  good.  To  educate  teacbers  to  sucb  a  model  is  a 
difficult  task,  and  yet  \ve  must  succeed  in  it  if  \ve  would  do  any 
tbing  for  elementary  instruction." 

It  woiüd  scarcely  be  necessary  to  mention  Spain  in  connection  \vitb 
tbe  spread  of  tbe  new  educational  ideas,  were  it  not  for  tbe  fact  tbat, 
in  1806,  tbe  Institution  at  Yverdon  received  a  number  of  pupils 
from  Spain,  Avbo  were  sent  tbitber  by  tbe  Government  tbrougb  tbe 
instigation  of  tbe  King,  and  by  tbe  influence  of  bis  all-powerful 
favorite,  Godoy,  Prince  of  Peace.  Tbe  Engbsb  and  Spanisb  bistori- 
ans  bave  represented  tbis  latter  personage  as  devoid  of  virtue  and 
intelHgence,  and  as  tbe  embodiment  of  wickedness  and  bypocrisy. 
Tbat  be  was  bated  by  tbe  priests  and  common  people,  on  aecount 
of  bis  favoring  tbe  Frencb  cause,  is  beyond  all  doubt ;  and  tbat,  by 
bis  lively  interest  in  education,  be  rendered  bimself  still  more  ob- 
noxious  to  tbe  Jesuits  is  very  probable.  Tbe  following  letters, 
written  to  Pestalozzi,  sbow  tbat  be  favored  an  educational  reform 
as  a  remedy  for  tbe  evils,  ignorance,  and  superstition,  witb  wbicb 
tbis  unbappy  country  was  afflicted : 

''Madrid,  2Sth  Juhj,  1807. 

"  I  bave  received  witb  mucb  pleasure  your  letter  of  tbe  first 
of  tbis  montb  ;  and  its  perusal  bas  produced  in  me  tbe  same  sen- 
timents  wbicb  tbe  name  of  tbe  benevolent  Pestalozzi  and  bis  be- 
loved  cause  bave  always  excited.  Cbildbood  bas  always  inspired  me 
witb  interest  and  tenderness,  and  tbis  sentiment  bas  contributed  to 
sweeten  my  troubles  and  to  relieve  my  cares  ;  but  tbe  Pestalozzian 
cbildbood  bas  given  me  raoments  of  joy  and  bas  excited  in  me  feel- 
ings  of  admiration  tbat  can  not  be  better  expressed  tban  by  wbat  I 
bave  done  in  favor  of  tbe  metbod.  I  bave  always  contemplated  with 
lively  pleasure  tbe  cbildren  wbo  bave  been  educated  according  to  tbis 
System,  and  bave  received  witb  emotion  tbe  expressions  of  gratitude 
from  tbeir  parents  and  tbemselves.  I  bave  presented  to  His  Majesty 
tbree  young  Pestalozzians,  wbo  bave  given  incontestable  proofs  of 
tbeir  astonisbing  progress  and  of  tbe  excellence  of  tbe  new  metbod. 
Your  aritbmetical  tables  are  already  an  ornament  in  tbe  cabinet  of 
tbe  Prince  Royal,  wbo  is  being  educated  according  to  tbe  pbilosopbic, 
solid,  and  sublime  principles  of  tbe  Regenerator  of  cbildbood.  Not- 
witbstanding  all  I  bave  done  in  favor  of  tbe  new  metbod  and  for 
tbe  renown  of  its  respected  founder,  my  beart  is  not  yet  satisfied; 
and  I  am  looking  out  for  a  fresb  opportunity  to  sbow  my  esteem  and 
constancy  in  tbeir  bebalf.     Tbe  Pestalozzian  Royal  Military  Scbool 


FRANCE,  SPAIN,  AND    RUSSIA.  217 

has  had  its  detractors,  as  is  the  case  with  all  new  and  usef  ul  estab- 
lishments  —  for  the  number  of  the  ignorant  is  always  greater  than 
the  number  of  the  wise;  but  they  have  not  dared  to  raise  their 
heads,  for  they  have  not  found  any  cause  for  which  to  attack  the 
new  System,  and  nobody  has  appeared  on  the  arena  to  combat  it  pub- 
licly.  The  Commissioners  of  Inspection  have  made  their  last  report. 
It  is  impartial,  and  worthy  of  the  illustrious  members  who  composed 
it,  and  also  of  the  glory  of  Pestalozzi.  This  benefactor  of  the  human 
race  will  have  the  consolation  of  knowing  that  Spain  renders  justice 
to  his  true  merits,  and  that  the  Prince  of  Peace  loves  him,  and  shall 
do  so  all  his  life,  as  long  as  he  can  appreciate  his  virtues  and  the 
fine  and  perfect  fruit  of  his  meditations. 

■  "  Sigmd,  The  Prince  of  Peace." 

''Aranjuez,  February,  1808. 

"  Statesmen,  in  their  public  life,  are  often  obliged  to  act  contrary 
to  their  real  convictions.  This  has  been  verified  in  the  abolition  of 
the  Pestalozzian  Royal  Military  School.  The  ingratitude  of  some, 
the  fanaticism  and  superstition  of  others,  and  t^e  ignorance  of  many 
have  attributed  to  the  Institution  dangerous  qualities  which  never  ex- 
isted.  Its  abolition,  therefore,  became  a  matter  of  absolute  necessity. 
Nevertheless,  being  myself  convinced  of  the  excellence  of  the  method, 
and  in  order  to  show  to  the  philanthropist  Pestalozzi,  and  to  all  Eu- 
rope,  that  I  shall  never  be  forced  to  act  inconsistently,  I  intend  to 
take  twelve  orphan  boys  under  my  immediate  protection,  who  shall 
continue  to  be  educated  in  these  principles,  and  whose  career  and 
Support  shall  be  my  care.  This  news  and  the  result  of  the  last  ex- 
amination  may,  perhaps,  tend  to  console  your  benevolent  heart. 

"The  Prince  of  Peace." 

By  the  Contents  of  these  two  letters,  we  are  enabled  to  form  a 
faint  picture  of  the  unhappy  condition  of  Spain  at  that  time,  and  of 
the  powerlessness  of  its  rulers.  A  month  after  the  date  of  the  last 
letter,  the  palace  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  was  sacked  and  plundered, 
while  he  barely  escaped  the  fury  of  the  exasperated  mob.  The 
premature  efforts  in  behalf  of  education  were  all  rendered  abortive 
by  the  wars  that  for  years  desolated  that  unhappy  land.  When 
peace  was  at  length  restored,  by  the  aid  of  the  British  arms,  educa- 
tion was  surrendered  to  the  Jesuits  and  ecclesiastics ;  and  the  nation 
so  far  relapsed  into  barbarism  that,  up  to  a  very  recent  period,  not 


218  PESTALOZZI. 

one-tenth  of  the  inhabitants  could  read  or  write.  The  late  revolu- 
tions,  however,  have  opened  for  her  a  new  career,  and  education 
emaneipated  is  again  reviving. 

We  can  not,  with  certainty,  state  how  far  the  Pestalozzian  princi- 
ples  have  obtained  a  foot-hold  in  Russia.  In  a  former  chapter,  we 
have  given  an  account  of  the  personal  interview  which  took  place 
between  the  Emperor  Alexander  and  Pestalozzi,  and  of  the  honors 
which  the  latter  received  from  his  imperial  friend.  We  may  here 
add  that  Alexander's  name  heads  the  subscription  to  Pestalozzi's  col- 
lected  works  with  5000  rubles,  followed  by  that  of  the  king  of  Prus- 
sia  with  400  thalers,  the  king  of  Bavaria  with  700  gülden,  the  kings 
of  Holland,  Würtemberg,  and  thirty-four  other  royal  and  princely 
personages,  for  various  amounts. 

The  Emperor  obtained  from  Pestalozzi  a  preceptor  for  the  imperial 
princes,  and  gave  his  powerful  patronage  to  Von  Muralt,  a  former 
assistant  of  Pestalozzi,  who  had  established  a  private  seminary  at 
St.  Petersburg  for  the  education  of  the  higher  classes.  Blochmann 
calls  Muralt  one  of  the  most  influential  teachers  and  advisers  of  Pes- 
talozzi, and  speaks  of  him  as  follows:  *'He  was  born  of  a  patrician 
family  at  Zürich,  and  had  already  risen  to  a  considerable  degree  of 
scientific  eminence  before  entering  Pestalozzi's  school  at  Burgdorf. 
Having  been  in  Paris  for  a  long  time,  he  was  able  to  give  Instruction 
in  two  languages.  He  was  a  strict  disciplinarian,  decided  and  digni- 
fied;  yet  cordial  and  sympathizing." 

Such  a  man  was  well  adapted  for  the  position  which  he  held  at 
St.  Petersburg;  and,  since  his  influence  was  exercised  near  the  center 
of  power,  it  has  probably  been  feit  wherever  questions  have  arisen 
concerning  the  physical,  mental,  or  moral  well  being  of  the  people. 


CHAPTEK    IV. 
ENGLAND. 

THE  circumstances  attending  the  introduction  and  spread  of  the 
Pestalozzian  principles  in  England  can  not  be  fiilly  understood 
without  a  brief  review  of  the  condition  of  education  in  that  country, 
and  of  the  effbrts  which  had  already  been  made  to  produce  a  reform. 

One  of  the  first  conditions  of  the  healthful  development  of  a  nat- 
ural System  of  schools  is,  that  it  shall  be  kept  free  from  the  control 
and  antagonisms  of  sect  and  caste.  An  examination  of  the  political 
and  social  condition  of  England,  at  any  time  during  the  last  Century, 
will  show  that  this  has  been  wanting.  Although  the  material  welfare 
and  commercial  prosperity  of  the  country  have  been  constantly  ad- 
vancing,  it  is  a  fact  too  obvious  to  be  denied,  that  national  schools, 
the  advantages  of  which  may  be  enjoyed  by  the  whole  people,  have 
never  had  an  existence. 

The  chartered  Colleges,  Universities,  and  Grammar  Schools  —  leg- 
acies  of  the  mediseval  ages,  and  accessible  only  to  the  privileged  few 
—  lingered  in  the  rear  of  civilization.  The  village  and  parochial 
schools,  dependent  for  support  upon  the  lord  of  the  manor,  or  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  clergy,  were  entirely  inadequate  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  education.  The  teachers,  poorly  qualified  and 
poorly  paid,  had  neither  disposition  nor  abihty  to  raise  their  Standard. 
In  the  cities  and  manufacturing  centers  thousands  of  children  grew 
up  in  utter  ignorance,  the  ever-living  fountain  in  which  the  great 
streams  of  pauperism  and  crime  have  their  source.  With  society  rent 
by  contending  and  antagonistic  sects,  and  separated  into  castes  by 
customs  almost  as  inexorable  as  those  prevalent  among  the  Hindoos, 
there  could  be  no  concert  of  action,  no  general  System  of  schools  that 
could  reach  these  unfortunate  classes.  Public  and  private  charity, 
strained  to  the  utmost,  entirely  failed  to  meet  the  emergency;  and 
history  was  obliged  to  record,  that  in  the  most  prosperous  and  wealthy 
nation  of  the  world,  where  the  arts  and  sciences  and  advanced  civili- 
zation have  reached  the  highest  state  of  perfection,  one-half  the  peo- 

(219) 


220  PESTALOZZI. 

ple  could  neither  read  nor  write,  and  were  as  uncultivated  as  if  tliey 
belonged  to  one  of  the  barbarous  races  of  the  world. 

To  remedy  these  evils,  and  to  affbrd,  at  least,  a  modicum  of 
Instruction  to  the  teeming  thousands  of  the  nianufacturing  cities, 
the  monitorial  System  was  devised  by  Bell  and  Lancaster.  This 
System  required  the  older  pupils  to  hear  the  recitations  of  the 
younger  ones.  These  pupil  teachers  were  termed  monitors.  This  was 
a  poor  de  vice  at  best,  as  the  Instruction  was  necessarily  confined  to 
the  mere  recitation  of  words  learned  from  a  text-book,  without 
thought  and  without  explanation.  It  was,  however,  much  better 
than  nothing,  and,  as  it  partially  met  an  imperative  human  need,  it 
spread  rapidly  and  became  exceedingly  populär. 

The  work  of  Bell  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  School  Society  in  1805 ;  and  that  of  Lancaster,  in  the  forma- 
tion  of  the  National  Society  in  1811.  Both  these  societies  had  tl\eir 
central  establishments  in  London ;  and  to  both,  Normal  Schools,  for 
training  teachers,  were  afterward  attached. 

The  principles  of  teaching,  as  pursued  by  these  two  societies,  were 
essentially  the  same :  they  only  differed  in  the  matter  of  religious  In- 
struction. The  former,  under  the  control  of  the  dissenters,  theoret- 
ically  founded  their  Instructions  upon  the  Bible,  but  read  the  word 
without  note  or  comment ;  while  the  latter,  under  the  control  of  the 
established  church,  required  special  Instruction  in  the  articles  and 
formulas  of  the  creed. 

It  need  scarcely  be  stated,  that  these  were  mostly  charity  schools. 
Their  supporters  never  contemplated  the  establishment  of  a  System 
that  should  meet  the  requirements  and  supply  the  demands  of  all 
classes. 

How  much  this  System  feil  short  of  accomplishing  even  the  limited 
work  Avhich  it  attempted,  may  be  gathered  from  the  report  of  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Poor,  in  1840.  This  report  states  that  64,570 
children,  under  sixteen  years  of  age,  were  found  in  the  poor-houses 
of  England,  none  of  whom  received  Instruction  of  any  kind. 

In  1835,  Lord  Brougham  brought  the  subject  of  national  education 
before  the  House  of  Lords  by  moving  a  series  of  resolutions,  which, 
among  other  things,  advised  the  encouragement  of  Infant  schools, 
the  establishment  of  others  where  good  teachers  might  be  trained, 
and  also  suggested  the  appointment  of  a  Board  of  Commissioners  to 
superintend  these  various  institutions.  No  action,  however,  was 
taken  on  these  resolutions.  In  1836  and  1837,  this  indefatigable 
Champion  in  the  cause  of  humanity  and  civilization  again  brought 
forward  his  resolutions,   with  additional  ones,   providing  for  the  ap- 


ENGLAND.  221 

pointment  of  local  school  committees  in  corporate  towns,  for  their 
election  in  agricultural  districts,  and  for  the  imposition  of  taxes  for 
the  Support  of  schools. 

The  only  one  of  these  objects  realized  in  1839,  was  a  Government 
grant,  to  be  divided  among  such  Normal  and  other  schools  as  would 
place  themselves  under  the  supervision  of  the  inspectors  appointed  by 
the  Government.  The  other  objects  contemplated  by  this  bill,  the 
Support  of  the  schools  by  taxes,  and  the  election  of  local  boards  of  con- 
trol,  were  not  made  a  portion  of  the  educational  System  until  1870. 
In  the  first  election  under  this  law,  several  of  the  largest  constituen- 
cies  of  England  took  a  step  far  in  advance  of  any  other  portion  of 
the  World,  by  the  election  of  women  to  these  school  boards. 

In  the  midst  of  the  discouragements  and  difficulties  which  the 
friends  of  education  had  to  encounter  nearly  forty  years  ago,  they 
were  cheered  and  comforted  by  the  manly  and  prophetic  utterances 
of  Lord  Brougham,  from  which  we  make  the  following  extracts: 
"For  the  first  time  we  have  had  the  attention  of  Parliament  fully 
directed  to  the  subject  of  education,  attracted,  no  doubt,  by  other 
motives  than  by  real  zeal  for  populär  improvement. 

It  is  thus  that  the  wisdom 
of  an  overruling  Providence,  bringing  general  good  out  of  partial 
evil,  Orders  that  some  superficial  irritation,  some  flying  ache,  shall 
excite  our  attention  to  the  deep-seated  mischief  that  is  preying  upon 
our  vitals,  shall  lead  us  to  probe  its  hidden  source  and  enable  us  to 
apply  the  needful  remedy,  long  after  the  superficial  feeling  that  first 
gave  the  warning  has  passed  away  and  been  forgotton.  The  igno- 
rance  of  the  people,  the  origin  of  all  the  worst  ills  that  prey  upon  our 
social  System,  has  become  at  length  the  object  of  legislative  regard ; 
and  I  defy  the  constituted  authorities  of  this  free  country  to  delay 
much  longer  in  apply ing  the  appropriate  remedy  to  a  disease  as  easily 
cured  as  it  is  fatal  when  neglected.     . 

"  It  is  certain,  as  things  now  stand,  that  the  two  great  parties,  into 
which  the  Community  is  divided  upon  this  mighty  question,  are 
resolved  that  we  shall  have  no  System  of  education  at  all;  no 
national  plan  for  training  teachers,  so  as  to  make  the  schools  which 
stud  the  country  deserve  the  name  they  bear ;  no  national  plan  for 
training  young  children  to  virtuous  habits,  and  thereby  rooting  out 
crimes  from  the  land.  This  interdict,  under  which  both  parties  join 
in  laying  their  country,  is,  by  each,  pronounced  to  be  necessary  for 
the  sacred  interests  of  religion.  O  Religion !  O  Gracious  God ! 
Was  ever  the  name  of  thy  holy  ordinances  so  impiously  profaned! 
Was  ever  before  thy  best  gift  to  man,  bis  reason,  so  bewildered  by 


222  PESTALOZZI. 

blind  bigotry,  or  savage  intolerance,  or  wild  fanaticism ;  —  bewildered 
so  as  to  curse  the  very  light  thou  hast  caused  to  shine  before  his 
Steps ;  —  bewildered  so  as  not  to  perceive  that  ^ny  and  every  religion 
must  flourish  best  in  the  tutored  mind,  and  that  by  whomsoever 
instructed  in  secular  things,  thy  word  can  be  better  sown  in  a  soil 
prepared,  than  in  one  abandoned  through  neglect  to  the  execrable  in- 
fluence  of  the  evil  spirit?  ........ 

*'I  know  that  nothing  like  a  provision  has  been  made  for  infant 
training  —  by  far  the  most  essential  branch  of  tuition  —  to  provide 
which  is  the  duty  of  our  rulers  above  every  other  duty  imperative 
upon  them,  and  which,  if  they  discharge  not,  they  forfeit  their  title 
to  rule.  But,  if  they  have  not  discharged  that  duty,  if  they  have 
planted  no  schools  where  the  habits  of  virtues  may  be  inculcated, 
stretched  forth  no  hand  to  extirpate  the  germs  of  vice,  they  have 
kept  open  other  schools,  where  vice  is  taught  with  never-failing  suc- 
cess.  The  infant  school,  which  a  paternal  government  would  have 
cherished,  languishes;  but  Newgate  flourishes." 

In  response  to  this  demand  for  the  establishment  of  infant  schools, 
many  Systems  were  advocated  by  the  various  friends  of  education; 
but  those  which  attain  ed  the  highest  success  were  the  ones  estab- 
lished  by  the  disciples  of  Pestalozzi.  Without  wishing  to  underrate 
the  labors  of  others,  we  would  State,  that  the  work  actually  accom- 
plished  was  chiefly  due  to  the  indefatigable  labors  of  Dr.  Mayo,  who 
had  spent  considerable  time  at  Yverdon,  and  enjoyed  the  personal 
friendship  of  Pestalozzi  and  his  associates.  He  was  at  the  head  of  a 
large  and  flourishing  school  for  boys  at  Cheam,  near  London,  which 
was  patronized  chiefly  by  the  higher  classes.  The  wide  popularity 
which  his  school  attained  was  owing,  in  part,  to  his  own  excellent 
management;  and,  in  part,  to  the  superior  teaching  in  the  mathemat- 
ical  department,  of  Professor  Keiner,  a  pupil  of  Pestalozzi. 

In  general  attainments  and  classic  learning,  Dr.  Mayo  ranked  as 
peer  to  the  first  scholars  in  the  land;  and  his  connection  with  the 
Universities,  and  his  wide  reputation  as  a  man  of  letters,  gave  him 
ample  opportunity  to  secure  desirable  positions  in  the  higher  paths 
of  science  and  literature. 

He  found,  however,  a  more  congenial  occupation  in  the  field  of 
education ;  and  devoted  his  time  and  energies  to  the  task  of  benefit- 
ing  childhood,  and  of  elevating  the  public  schools  of  his  country. 
His  earliest  appeals  in  favor  of  a  System  of  infant  schools  are  re- 
corded  in  a  speech  delivered  before  the  Royal  Institute,  in  1826. 
The  sentiments  contained  in  this  address,  and  his  subsequent  acts, 
show  that  he  had  the  same  philanthropic  spirit  and  self-devotion  in 


ENGLAND.  223 

the  cause  of  humanity  that  characterized  the  original  founders  of  the 
school  reform. 

Although,  in  order  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  English  cur- 
riculum  of  fashionable  learning,  much  of  the  tinie  of  his  school  was 
devoted  to  the  classics,  Dr.  Mayo  was  constantly  endeavoring  to  Sup- 
plement this  Instruction  with  that  real  knowdedge,  w^hich — as  he  had 
learned  from  the  precepts  and  practices  of  Pestalozzi — is  necessary  to 
the  füll  and  harmonious  development  of  all  the  powers  of  the  mind. 
He  gave  especial  attention  to  his  younger  pupils,  laying  a  broad 
foundation  for  future  development.  In  pursuing  his  object,  he  dis- 
played,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  combined  characteristics  of  an  orig- 
inal thinker  and  a  practical  worker.  Not  satisfied  with  the  mere 
enunciation  of  high  soundin g  and  plausible  theories,  he  submitted 
every  plan  and  method  to  the  ordeal  of  experiment,  and  gave  to  the 
public  only  such  as  had  stood  the  test  of  the  most  critical  analysis. 

In  this  work  he  was  ably  assisted  by  his  sister,  Miss  Elizabeth 
Mayo,  who  planned  and  published  a  systematic  series  of  Object  Les- 
sons.  The  following  narrative  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Mayo  is  par- 
ticularly  valuable,  since  it  shows  the  superiority  of  a  person  who 
lays  hold  of  the  central  principles  of  a  great  movement,  over  one 
who  merely  copies  the  mechanical  portions,  preserving  the  form  but 
losing  the  indwelling  spirit: 

"Pestalozzi  was  peculiarly  solicitous  that  the  idea  of  his  method 
of  education  should  not  be  confounded  with  the  form  it  might  assume. 
He  feit,  and  strongly  too,  the  value,  the  power,  and  the  truth  of 
that  idea;  and  highly  as  he  was  disposed  to  appreciate  the  labors  of 
his  disciples  in  their  practical  application  to  the  work  of  education, 
he  saw  that  they  were,  at  best,  superficial  and  incomplete, —  embody- 
ings  of  the  grand  and  profound  conceptions  in  which  he  might  be 
Said,  intellectually,  to  live,  move,  and  have  his  being.         .         .     . 

"Profoundly  convinced  of  the  truth  of  Pestalozzis  views,  and 
warned  against  his  errors  by  long  actual  Observation  of  the  conse- 
quences,  the  writer  of  these  remarks  determined  to  attempt  the  in- 
troduction  of  the  method  into  England,  religiously  preserving  the 
idea,  but  adapting  the  form  to  the  circumstances  in  which  he  might 
be  placed.  He  considered  that  the  most  effectual  mode  of  accom- 
plishing  this  end  was  to  devote  himself  to  the  formation  of  a  school, 
in  which  the  arrangement  and  practical  application  of  those  princi- 
ples might  be  made.  To  exhibit  the  System  in  Operation;  to  elab- 
orate  a  course  of  Instruction  by  means  of  experiments  continually 
repeated ;  and,  above  all,  to  prepare  materials  for  an  appeal  to 
actual   results,    seemed    to    him    a    far    more    useful    and   effectual, 


224  PESTALOZZI. 

though  less  rapid  and  brilliant  process,  than  that  of  dragging 
it  before  reluctant  audiences  at  public  meetings,  or  of  advancing 
its  merits  in  the  periodical  publications  of  the  day.  He  was  content 
that  it  should  be  buried  in  oblivion  for  awhile,  assured,  that,  if  it 
really  possessed  the  life  of  truth,  it  would,  in  due  time,  spring  iip 
with  renewed  vigor.  That  time  seems  to  have  arrived.  Attention  to 
the  subject  is  renewed.  Schools,  professing  to  be  conducted  on  Pes- 
talozzian  principles,  are  increasing  in  number;  and  publications  issue 
from  the  press,  which  point  out  with  more  or  less  success,  the  man- 
ner of  applying  them  to  different  branches  of  Instruction.  They  are 
the  result  of  many  years  of  experience,  the  corrected  and  re-corrected 
editions  of  lessons  actually  given  by  different  individuals.  They  may 
want  some  of  that  ideal  beauty  discernible  in  works  produced  in  the 
closet  by  ingenious  Imagination  ;  but  they  possess,  on  the  other  band, 
the  solid  advantage  of  ascertained  practicability  and  demonstrated 
usefulness. 

''  It  has  been  thought  desirable  to  commence  the  series  with  a 
course  of  Lessons  on  Objects.  It  is  a  field  hitherto  little,  if  at  all, 
cultivated.  The  distinguishing  principles  of  the  Pestalozzian  System 
are  strikingly  exemplified  in  it.  The  Instruction  given  in  Infant 
schools  would  be  improved  by  the  introduction  of  a  similar  plan, 
and  the  early  education  of  the  nursery  would  receive  a  new  and 
interesting  feature. 

"This  mode  of  Instruction  was  suggested  to  Pestalozzi  by  the  pecul- 
iar  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed  at  Stanz.  The  brutalized 
State  into  which  the  poor  children  confided  to  liis  care  had  fallen  ren- 
dered  it  absolutely  necessary  to  find  some  new^  mode  of  interesting 
their  minds  and  calling  out  their  dormant  faculties.  Nature  was  the 
only  book  with  which  they  w^ere  conversant,  and  their  first  lessons 
were  consequently  drawn  from  its  pages.  Experience  and  judgment 
retained  what  necessity  first  imposed.  The  subjects  ordinarily  pre- 
sented  to  the  youthful  mind  appeared  too  remote  from  that  knowl- 
edge  which  the  child  acquires  without  regulär  instruction ;  and,  gen- 
erally,  they  were  taught  in  too  abstract  a  manner.  It  was  proposed 
to  bring  education  more  in  contact  wdth  the  child's  own  experience 
and  Observation,  and  to  find  in  him  the  first  link  in  the  chain  of  his 
instruction. 

"The  plan  of  teaching  by  objects  Avas  adopted,  yet  many  inconven- 
iences  resulted  from  the  arrangement.  The  subjects  w^hich  the  room 
itself,  the  building,  the  premises,  presented  were  soon  exhausted,  or 
thought  to  be  so ;  the  pupils  were  then  taken  into  the  fields,  but  the 
weather  was  an  occasional  hinderance ;    the  variety   of  objects   pre- 


ENGLAND.  225 

sented  out-of-doors  distracted  the  attention  of  the  pupils,  and,  thoiigh 
much  interest  was  at  first  excited,  still,  as  there  was  no  sensible  prog- 
ress,  no  perceivable  end,  it  dirainished  rather  than  inereased  in  force. 
It  was  thought,  too,  that  the  exercises,  so  miscellaneous  in  character, 
so  devoid  of  systematic  arrangement,  were  essentially  defective  as  a 
means  of  intellectual  development.  Upon^these  grounds  the  miscel- 
laneous Object  Lessons  were  abandoned,  and  the  master  (Krüsi)  who 
had  conducted  the  class,  substituted  a  course  on  the  parts  and  func- 
tions  of  the  human  frame.  These  are  contained  in  the  *  Manual  for 
Mothers,'  a  work  presenting  valuable  hints  for  early  education,  mixed 
with  much  that  is  insufferably  tedious.  At  the  period  when  the  writer 
of  these  observations  was  in  the  Institution  at  Yverdon,  Instruction 
on  objects  had  fallen  into  disuse ;  but,  having  heard  this  history  from 
the  teacher  who  had  formerly  given  it,  he  feit  strongly  convinced 
that  a  mode  might  be  adopted  by  which  its  advantages  would  be 
secured,  and  its  contingent  inconveniences  avoided.  Having  commu- 
nicated  this  impression  to  his  sister,  Miss  Mayo,  with  a  general  no- 
tion  of  the  plan,  he  has  left  the  execution  of  the  details  to  her ;  and 
the  result  of  her  labor  is  the  exercises  now  for  the  first  time  pre- 
sented  to  the  public.  ......... 

''As  they  are  intended  to  be  preparatory  to  Instruction  in  Natural 
History,  they  gradually  assume  a  more  scientific  character,  and  thus 
a  feeling  of  progress  is  sustained  in  the  pupil's  mind.  It  has  been 
found,  indeed,  by  long  experience,  that  no  lessons  produce  more  con- 
tinued  interest,  or  more  enlarge  the  minds  of  children,  than  those  on 
objects." 

The  ''Lessons  on  Objects"  were  published  in  1830,  and  were  soon 
foUowed  by  "Lessons  on  Number  and  Form,"  prepared  by  Professor 
Keiner.  About  this  time  Mr.  Greaves,  an  enthusiastic  friend  and  ad- 
mirer  of  Pestalozzi,  and  Dr.  Biber,  a  learned  German,  who  published 
a  life  of  Pestalozzi  in  English,  called  the  attention  of  the  British 
public  to  the  needed  reform  in  education  generally,  and  to  the  im- 
portance  of  the  establishment  of  Infant  schools  in  particular. 

The  result  of  these  exertions  was  the  formation  of  the  Home  and 
Colonial  Society  in  1836.  A  building  was  selected  in  Gray 's  Inn 
Road,  and  a  school  opened  for  the  training  of  children.  The  necessity 
of  a  Normal  department  was  soon  feit,  since  the  school  was  expected 
to  be  a  nursery  of  other  schools  of  the  same  kind.  Through  the 
indefatigable  exertions  of  its  leading  manager,  Mr.  Reynolds,  a  gen- 
tleman  of  noble  impulses  and  considerable  wealth,  the  establishment 
of  the  Normal  department  was  secured,  and  the  sphere  of  the  use- 
fulness  of  the  society  was  enlarged. 
P.15. 


226  PESTALOZZI. 

The  wide  celebrity  of  tliis  Training  School,  however,  is  mainly  due 
to  its  vigorous  adherence  to  the  rational  System  of  education,  which 
is  a  direct  outgrowth  of  the  principles  of  Pestalozzi.  Its  religious 
foundation  is  sufficiently  broad  to  embrace  all  the  distinctive  evan- 
gelical  sects,  and  it  is  as  free  frora  the  influence  of  caste  as  it  is  pos- 
sible  to  be  in  the  present  condition  of  English  government  and  So- 
ciety. 

For  its  free  spirit,  and  the  reputation  it  has  obtained  in  consequence, 
the  Institution  is  largely  indebted  to  Dr.  Mayo  and  his  sister.  Their 
writings  had  attracted  the  attention  of  Mr.  Reynolds,  and  profoundly 
impressed  him  with  the  iraportance  of  placing  his  school  upon  a  basis 
Avhich  should  secure  to  it  the  aid  of  enlightened  and  noble  minds. 
This  basis  he  found  in  what  Dr.  Mayo  calls,  when  referring  to  the 
work  of  Pestalozzi,  "the  application  of  Christianity  to  the  business  of 
education."  Miss  Mayo,  who  soon  afterward  moved  into  the  neigh- 
borhood  of  London,  gave  to  the  school  her  valuable  assistance,  until 
her  death. 

In  consequence  of  the  new  and  superior  methods  pursued,  the  In- 
stitution, from  time  to  time,  secured  the  Cooperation  of  many  efficient 
educators,  prominent  among  whom  may  be  mentioned  Mr.  Robert 
Dunning,  of  Scotland.  He  came  from  a  country  where  the  paro- 
chial  school  System  dates  back  to  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  Amer- 
ica, and  where  the  Protestant  dement  was  so  powerful  as  to  scarcely 
allow  one  of  its  Citizens  to  grow  up  without  being  able  to  read  the 
Bible.  The  development  of  the  Scotch  school  of  philosophy,  with 
its  sharp  analysis  of  the  powers  of  the  mind,  had  also  given  education 
an  Impulse  in  that  country  even  before  the  agitation  for  reform  com- 
menced  in  England.  The  System  of  Mr.  Stowe  had  the  merit  of 
approximating  the  truth,  but  it  lacked  the  true  spirit  of  development. 
Mr.  Dunning,  however,  was  not  content  with  this  half-way  work. 
His  clear  and  discriminating  mind  soon  saw  that  the  basis  of  educa- 
tion must  rest  upon  the  development  of  the  perceptive  faculties,  by 
appealing  directly  to  the  objects  themselves,  rather  than  by  obtaining 
the  same  result  through  the  circuitous  path  of  the  imagination. 
Thus,  in  hearty  sympathy  with  the  general  spirit  of  the  Institution, 
Mr.  Dunning  was  appointed  to  superintend  its  methods,  and  arrange 
courses  of  Instruction.  He  performed  this  Service  with  great  intelli- 
gence  and  ability. 

Mr.  Coghlan,  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  to  some  extent  a  pupil  of 
the  school,  did  important  and  valuable  service  in  skillfuUy  carrying 
out  the  methods  of  Instruction  in  the  junior  practicing  school,  and 
in  preparing  exercises  for  some  of  the  higher  departments. 


ENGLAND.  227 

Prof.  Keiner,  the  teacher  of  Mathematics,  was  connected  with  tlie 
school  at  Yverdon,  until  it  was  given  up  in  1826.  He  was  afterward 
associated  with  Dr.  Mayo,  and  upon  the  death  of  the  latter,  he  moved 
to  London  and  was  employed  in  the  Home  and  Colonial  School, 
where  he  rendered  most  excellent  Service  in  his  favorite  branch  of 
Instruction.     He  also  taught  the  children  of  Queen  Victoria. 

We  should  also  mention  liere  the  Services  of  Mr.  Tegetmeier,  in 
the  branches  of  Natural  Science,  and  of  the  Misses  Sunter,  Tucker, 
and  Jones  in  the  practicing  and  training  departments.  The  latter  we 
shall  meet  again  in  our  notice  of  education  in  America. 

The  author  may  be  excused  for  mentioning  his  own  connection 
with  this  school.  For  five  years  his  Services  were  employed  in  de- 
veloping  exercises  in  various  departments,  among  which  was  Invent- 
ive  Drawing,  already  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter. 

Among  the  agencies  which  have  given  this  school  just  celebrity 
for  training  teachers,  is  its  practicing  school,  where  the  jDupils  are 
obliged  to  apply  the  principles  in  which  they  have  been  instructed. 

The  influence  of  this  school  upon  education  in  England  can  scarcely 
be  overstated.  It  has  sent  out  more  than  four  thousand  well  trained 
teachers  to  take  their  places  in  the  elementary  schools.  Above  all, 
it  has  steadily  inculcated  the  true  philosophic  principles  of  education, 
which  sooner  or  later  must  permeate  the  whole  social  System  of  the 
country. 

It  is  but  just  to  mention  the  Training  School  at  Battersea,  near 
London.  This  school  was  established  under  the  auspices,  and,  in 
part,  by  the  funds  of  Messrs.  Tuffnel  and  Shuttle worth,  two  gentle- 
men  who  had  previously  traveled  through  nearly  every  country  in 
Europe,  in  order  to  make  themselves  acquainted  with  the  best  Sys- 
tems of  Instruction. 

They  seem  to  have  been  most  attracted  by  the  labors  of  Fellen- 
berg and  Wehrli,  at  Hofwyl,  in  Switzerland,  where  the  methods  of 
Pestalozzi  were  applied  to  agricultural  and  industrial  training ;  and 
the  school  which  they  established  was  founded  upon  a  similar  basis. 
This  school  has  also  accomplished  an  excellent  work:  directly,  by 
giving  a  scientific  and  practical  education  to  its  pupils ;  and  indirectly, 
by  extending  a  knowledge  of  the  true  processes  of  Instruction  to  all 
parts  of  the  country  through  its  pupils  and  graduates. 


CHAPTER    V. 

UNITED  STATES. 

THE  development  of  the  j^oütical  and  social  institutions  of  this 
countiy  has  been  the  result  of  such  diverse  and  often  antag- 
onistic  forces,  and  has  proceeded  so  rapidly,  that,  at  the  present  time, 
it  is  scarcely  possible  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  it  in  all  its  varied 
relations.  The  field  of  survey  is  so  vast,  and  the  progressive  tenden- 
eies  so  universal,  that  individual  and  particular  movements  are 
merged  and  lost  in  the  majestic  marcli  of  the  nation. 

In  a  general  review  of  the  progress  of  education  in  this  country, 
we  meet  with  the  same  difficulties.  The  movements  have  apparently 
been  so  spontaneous  and  general  that  the  schools  seem  rather  a  nat- 
ural growth,  than  the  result  of  deliberate  action.  In  the  North,  edu- 
cation for  all  was  recognized  as  a  fundamental  principle  from  the  very 
first  settlement  of  the  country.  This  sentiment,  broadening  and  deep- 
ening  in  its  course,  kept  pace  .with  the  tide  of  civilization  advancing 
toward  the  West,  until  now  it  is  recognized  as  an  integrant  part  of  the 
political  and  social  fabric  of  American  institutions.  As  interpreted 
in  this  country,  education  for  all,  means  education  that  is  practically 
free,  without  restrictions  for  class,  caste,  sex,  or  creed.  It  means 
also,  that  while  all  shall  have  equal  advantages,  those  advantages 
shall  be  shared  together  in  the  same  schools ;  and  although  restric- 
tions have  been  imposed,  from  time  to  time,  they  have  usually  been 
both  local  and  temporary  in  their  character. 

For  the  realization  of  this  grand  idea  of  education,  the  American 
people  have  always  made  sacrifices  that  have  excited  the  admiration 
of  the  World.  Legislatures  and  individuals  have  all  brought  their 
most  acceptable  offerings  to  the  great  altar  of  human  intelligence. 
The  methods  have  apparently  not  kept  pace  with  the  spread  of  edu- 
cation. The  fathers  of  the  country  adopted  the  best  System  known 
in  their  time,  and  brought  it  within  the  reach  of  all ;  but  in  the 
hurry  and  excitement  of  material  advancement,  the  old  system  be- 
came  crystallized  and  rigid,  and  for  a  long  time  little  or  no  thought 
was  given  to  improved  methods. 
(228) 


UNITED    STATES.  229 

The  work  before  us  is,  not  to  trace  the  histoiy  of  educatiou  in  this 

countiy ;  but,  rather,  to  note  to  what  extent,  and  by  whom  the  im- 

\>  proved  method  as  advocated  by  Pestalozzi  has  been  introduced,  what 

has  been  its  effect  upon  education  generally,  and  what  are  the  obsta- 

cles  in  the  way  of  its  complete  and  general  adoption. 

As  preliminary  to  this  work,  we  would  call  attention  to  the  gen- 
eral progress  of  education ;  and  to  the  successive  phases  which  it 
must  assume  in  the  evolution  of  society,  before  the  introduetion  of 
new  methods  is  possible,  and  when  their  application  becomes  a  mat- 
ter of  necessity. 

The  first  stage  of  progress  is  the  awakening  of  the  nation  to  the 
consciousness  that  the  Clements  of  science  must  be  acquired  in  order 
to  enable  the  individual  to  escape  from  the  trammels  of  superstition 
and  ignorance.  Europe  entered  this  phase  of  education  at  the  com- 
mencement  of  the  Reformation ;  and  with  it  America  commenced 
her  career. 

From  the  first  stage  there  gradually  develops  an  appreciation  of 
the  needs  of  humanity.  This  leads  to  the  second  stage,  in  which 
the  schools,  mistaking  the  shadow  for  the  substance,  draw  their  In- 
spiration mainly  from  the  classic  sources  of  by-gone  times.  The  mem- 
ory  is  cultivated  at  the  expense  of  the  higher  faculties  of  the  mind; 
and  the  spirit  of  culture  is  lost  in  anxious  efforts  to  preserve  the 
form.  This  phase  of  education  amuses  the  people  with  the  sem- 
blance  of  learning,  while  it  retards  and  discourages  all  efforts  at 
original  thought. 

The  third  stage  is  really  a  continuation  of  the  second,  though  ap- 
parently  antagonistic  to  it.  It  comes  in  an  era  when  physical  wealth 
and  prosperity  have  advanced  farther  than  mental  culture ;  and  when 
there  is  a  general  desire  to  obtain  the  results  of  learning  without  sub- 
mitting  to  the  conditions  through  which  alone  learning  can  be  ob- 
tained.  Knowledge  is  regarded  as  something  outside  of  man  and 
wholly  foreign  to  his  nature,  rather  than  something  which  should 
enter  into  the  very  texture  of  his  being.  Science,  being  of  use,  at 
least  its  terms  should  be  known.  The  memorizing  of  scientific  State- 
ments is,  therefore,  considered  as  equivalent  to  the  acquisition  of 
facts;  and  the  pupils  who  are  stuffed  with  these  mere  Symbols  of 
knowledge  are  often  regarded  as  prodigies  of  learning.  At  school 
exhibitions  parents  and  school  officers  are  Struck  with  wonder  at  the 
glibness  of  the  recitations  of  the  pupils,  and  are  as  satisfied  with 
these  baubles  of  science  as  the  savage  is  with  his  bright  buttons  and 
glass  beads. 

Education  at  this  time  is  füll  of  fallacious  promises,  in  which  the 


/ 

230  PESTALOZZI. 

fruit  is  to  come  before  the  blossom,  and  the  füll  harvest  before  the 
seed  has  been  sown;  it  is  füll  of  professions  which  can  never  be  real- 
ized,  because  tliey  are  contrary  to  the  eternal  laws  of  God. 

The  schools  of  the  United  States  seem  still  to  be  largely  controlled 
by  the  ideas  that  characterize  this  era.  They  have,  it  is  true,  gone 
one  Step  beyond  the  old  System  of  memorizing  merely  classical  sub- 
jects;  and  have,  to  a  considerable  extent,  recognized  the  importance 
of  science  in  all  its  relations. 

In  the  fourth  era  of  educational  progress,  philosoj)hy  which  has 
been  developed  in  other  pursuits  is  directed  toward  methods  and 
Systems.  At  this  time  people  begin  to  discover  that  true  education, 
like  true  science  and  philosophy,  must  every-where  be  in  harmony 
with  nature,  and  proceed  in  accordance  with  natural  laws.  They  see 
that  intelligence  must  take  the  place  of  routine,  and  that  education 
must  express  an  inward  condition  rather  than  an  outward  object. 
At  this  period  the  idea  begins  to  dawn  that  school  life  should  be  a 
vital  part  of  common  life;  and  that  school  exercises  should  all  be 
foünded  upon  the  previous  experiences  of  the  pupils,  and  should 
proceed  step  by  step  to  enlarge  these  experiences  and  to  unfold  the 
mental  powers.  There  arises,  also,  a  perception  that  the  true  Stand- 
ard of  excellence,  in  any  process  of  Instruction,  is  its  capability  of 
generally  interesting  pupils,  and  of  inciting  them  to  originality  and 
independence  of  thought.  The  question  is  not,  how  much  does  this 
pupil  know  upon  this  or  that  topic ;  but,  rather,  how  well  is  he  pre- 
pared  to  grasp  any  subject  and  treat  it  with  intelligence? 

This  last  era  is  yet  to  be  fully  realized ;  but  is  one,  if  we  mistake 
not  the  signs  of  the  times,  upon  which  the  American  schools  are  rap- 
idly  entering.  In  this  era  the  principles  of  Pestalozzi  are  impera- 
tively  demanded,  and  are  necessary  to  the  next  steps  of  progress. 

For  many  years  isolated  ideas  of  unmistakable  Pestalozzian  origin 
have  been  presented  to  the  American  public  by  different  educators. 
In  1823,  Warren  Colburn  made  the  first  assault  upon  the  old  System 
by  Publishing  his  ''  Intellectual  Arithmetic,"  a  work  which  has  had 
an  immense  influence  in  changing,  and,  indeed,  in  revolutionizing 
teaching  in  that  brauch  of  Instruction.  The  origin  of  the  plan  upon 
which  the  book  is  constructed  is  seen  in  the  principle  of  gradual  and 
systematic  development,  which  is  its  characteristic  feature;  and  in 
the  fact  that  the  Pestalozzian  table  of  units  as  prepared  by  Krüsi 
was  appended  to  its  first  edition. 

The  Veteran  educator  and  reformer,  Samuel  J.  May,  of  Syracuse, 
in  an  address  before  the  Normal  School  at  Bridgewater,  Massachu- 
setts,  used  the   following  language  concerning   Mr.   Colburn's  work 


UNITED   STATES.  231 

and  the  reforms  that  followed :  "  This  little  work  gave  not  so  much 
the  theory,  as  an  example  of  what  a  school-book  ought  to  be;  and 
throughout  our  schools  it  has  changed  not  only  the  method  of  teach- 
ing  the  science  of  which  it  treats,  but  the  true  method  of  teaching 
the  elements  of  all  other  sciences." 

It  seemed  as  if  from  that  date,  1823,  the  demand  for  improved 
methods  of  education  became  more  urgent.  Some  men  went  like 
missionaries  from  place  to  place,  preaching  a  new  educational  creed, 
in  which  not  words  alone,  but  their  essence  and  spirit,  as  embodied  in 
facts,  were  to  become  the  saving  agency  from  ignorance  and  pedantry. 
Others  wrote  publications  to  the  same  effect ;  and  others,  again, 
worked  by  practice  and  example  in  their  respective  spheres.  ^ 

The  Journal  of  Education,  commenced  by  Professor  Wm.  Russell 
in  1826,  and  published  by  him  for  several  years,  did  good  work. 
The  publication  of  Mrs.  Austin's  translation  of  Cousin's  "  Report  of 
the  State  of  Public  Instruction  in  Prussia ; "  and  the  accounts  which 
were  brought  by  intelligent  travelers  from  other  European  States, 
made  known  the  mortifying  fact,  that,  during  the  preceding  Century, 
very  much  more  had  been  done  to  give  the  people  of  the  monarch- 
ical  governments  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  elements  of  literature 
and  science,  than  had  been  done  by  the  freest  and  most  intelligent 
States  of  this  Republic. 

The  Rev.  Charles  Brooks  and  others  went  about  the  country 
lecturing  upon  the  subject,  every-where  telling  to  large  audiences  the 
Story  of  our  shameful  deficiencies,  describing  the  European  seminaries, 
and  stating  that  no  one  there  was  permitted  to  be  a  teacher,  who 
had  not  been  prepared  for  the  work.  Upon  Seminaries  and  Normal 
Schools,  the  thoughts  of  the  wisest  friends  of  education  in  our  country 
now  concentrated. 

Among  those  who^  at  this  time,  were  quietly  engaged  in  carrying 
the  principles  of  Pestalozzi  into  practical  execution,  were  two  remark- 
able  men,  brothers,  Dr.  Wm.  A.,  and  Mr.  A.  Bronson  Alcott.  The 
latter  for  some  time  tauglit  a  private  school  in  a  retired  country  vil- 
lage,  where,  by  following  the  principles  of  development  in  an  original 
manner,  he  had  produced  results  of  a  most  remarkable  and  satisfac- 
tory  character.  Afterward  he  was  associated  with  his  brother  in  the 
management  of  a  private  school  in  Connecticut.  This  school  was  con- 
ducted  on  principles  very  far  in  advance  of  the  times.  From  this 
field  of  labor,  he  received  an  invitation  to  organize  an  Infant  school 
in  Boston,  which  he  accepted  with  alacrity. 

He  entered  upon  the  Performance  of  his  new  duties  with  his  whole 
soul,  and  with  a  sincere  desire  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  children 


232  PESTALOZZI. 

committed  to  his  care.  He  treated  his  pupils  as  moral,  as  well  as 
intellectual,  beings;  and,  like  Pestalozzi,  he  was  convinced  that 
moral  impressions,  to  be  durable,  must  be  based  upon  experience 
and  upon  ideas  gained  from  real  objects  and  actions.  Proverbs, 
apothegms,  and  moral  precepts,  though  conveyed  in  fine  words,  and 
repeated  until  indelibly  impressed  upon  the  memory,  he  thought 
could  never  produce  genuine  moral  convictions.  Carrying  out  these 
ideas  to  their  logical  conclusions,  even  in  Bible  lessons  he  listened  to 
the  simple  suggestions  of  the  pupils  with  respectful  attention,  instead 
of  enforcing  upon  them  the  opinions  of  the  authoritative  expounders 
of  the  text.  He  often  refused  to  deeide  between  their  different  opin- 
ions, preferring  to  so  lead  their  minds  that  they  would  see  the  truth 
rather  than  have  it  stated  for  them.  He  had  no  confidence  in  the 
efficacy  of  that  System  which  memorizes  w^ords,  that  the  ideas  con- 
tained  in  them  might  be  comprehended  at  some  future  State  of  de- 
velopment. 

He  was  appreciated  by  the  few,  but  condemned  by  the  many.  His 
independenee  of  opinion  estranged  from  him  many  of  his  original 
supporters;  for  he  never  stooped  to  flatter,  nor  did  he  ever  change 
his  course  for  fear  of  losing  patronage.  Like  Pestalozzi,  he  considered 
the  children  of  the  poor  just  as  worthy  of  his  consideration  as  the 
children  of  the  rieh ;  and  his  persistent  refusal  to  remove  a  colored 
child  from  his  school,  at  a  time  when  the  slave  power  in  America 
not  only  dominated  in  politics,  but  extended  its  baleful  influence 
through  every  ramification  of  society,  resulted  in  the  withdrawal  of 
patronage,  and  the  breaking  up  of  his  school. 

With  the  spirit  of  the  old  martyrs,  this  noble  descendant  of  the 
Puritans  faced  poverty,  obloquy,  and  social  ostracism  rather  than  be- 
tray  humanity ;  and  his  act  was  one  of  the  heroic  deeds  which  re- 
buked  the  servility  of  the  times  and  helped  to  rouse  the  nation  to  a 
sense  of  the  terrible  iniquity  which  was  corrupting  and  debasing  its 
manhood  and  destroying  the  very  foundation  of  its  existence.  He 
most  heroically  verified  the  truth  of  the  poet,  when  he  says : 

"  To  side  with  truth  is  noble, 

When  we  share  her  wretched  crust, 
Ere  her  cause  brings  fame  and  profit, 
And  'tis  prosperous  to  be  just." 

In  1826,  Hon.  James  C.  Carter,  of  Massachusetts,  issued  a  pamph- 
let  in  which  he  reviewed  the  condition  of  the  schools  of  New  Eng- 
land, and  suggested  measures  of  reform.  Of  this  Mr.  May  says: 
"  Mr.  Carter  descants  wisely  upon  the  inestimable  influence  of  early 


UNITED    STATES.  233 

education ;  pays  a  just  tribute  to  the  wise  foresight  of  the  founders 
of  New  England  in  providing  for  the  cultiire  of  all  the  young ;  and 
shows  the  deteriorating  eifects  which  flow  from  the  Institution  of 
private  Academies,  of  which  there  were  none  in  Massachusetts  until 
after  the  Revolution.  He  then  exposes  the  defects  in  the  Organ- 
ization of  the  free  schools,  as  well  as  in  the  methods  pursued  in  them. 
In  conclusion,  he  shows  that  they  can  be  made  what  they  should  be, 
by  a  careful  preparation  of  teachers  for  them,  and  gives  some  excel- 
lent  hints  of  an  Institution  for  the  education  of  teachers.  ^is  last 
was  the  great  idea  of  his  pamphlet.  It  has  since  been  expanded 
until  it  has  grown  into  the  present  common  school  System  of  Massa- 
chusetts, comprlsing  a  Board  of  Education,'  a  number  of  Normal 
Schools,  and  a  body  of  wholesome  laws  for  the  government  of  schools 
of  different  grades,  which  are  now  required  to  be  kept  at  the  public 
expense  in  all  the  towns  of  the  Commonwealth." 

TflK^labors  >Q£jitL!:ac^_3'l^äJUU  in  the  cause  of  education  were  of  such 
a  charn<3ter  as  to  insure  to  his  memory  the  gratitude,  not  only  of 
Massachusetts,  which  was  the  theater  of  his  principal  labors,  but  of 
the  whole  couhtry.  Like  Pestalozzi,  his  work  was  characterized  by 
a,Jfl£^  and  nob^^nlliJugiasm^-«£2r---tbe_i^ause  oX,humanity.  He  em- 
ployed  h^is__greate]wu^il£e_J^  and  in  Opposition 

to  all  ideas  and  customs  which  tended  to  keep  his  fellow-men  in 
physical  or  intellectual  bondage. 

We  have  already  laid  before  our  readers  Horace  Mann's  notice  of 
the  career  of  Von  Türk,  in  which  he  expresses  in  the  most  eloquent 
terms  his  appreciation  of  the  nobleness  of  that  spirit,  which  sacrificed 
wealth,  political  preferment,  and  social  distinction  for  the  benefit  of 
the  poor  and  unfortunate.  Mr.  Mann's  own  career  furnishes  another 
pv^prpjp  of  ^  Uff_finf^i*fij1v  rjpdu>^,f,(^d  t/^J-.hq^^^iigftJ^fJ^TMijji^flrj^d  jiistif,^^ 
and  to  the  moral  elevation  of  the  people. 

In  1837,  Horace  Mann,  then  a  prominent  lawyer,  and  a  member 
of  the  Senate  of  M^^ächusetts,  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the 
newly  created  Board  i^f  Education  in  that  State.  This  post  he  occu- 
pied  for  eleven  yeafs.  During  that  time  he  devoted  himself  with 
untiring  energy  to  the  labors  of  his  office,  generally  working  fifteen 
hours  a  day,  thus  depriving  himself  of  ease,  social  pleasures,  and  rec- 
reation.  This  self-immolation  enabled  him  to  accomplish  a  vast 
amount  of  work  ;  but  it  also  engendered  a  disease,  which  caused  him 
great  suffering  and  finally  shortened  his  life.  That  his  course  was  a 
matter  of  choice,  and  the  penalty  clearly  understood,  may  be  gathered 
from  the  advice  given  on  his  dying  bed  to  his  pupils:  "jBe  ashavied  to 
die  unless  you  have  ivon  some  victory  for  humanity" 


234  PESTALOZZI. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  principal  measures  of  reform  adopted 
during  Mr.  Mann's  administration,  and  they  are  directly  attributable 
to  his  efforts : 

First.  —  Paid  school  committees  were  appointed  in  the  towns  to 
examine  and  employ  teachers,  and  to  superintend  the  schools.  By 
this  measure,  a  responsible  head  was  provided  for  the  schools  in  each 
town,  and  many  abiises  were  corrected,  by  which  the  qualification  of 
teachers  and  the  general  Standard  of  schools  were  raised  throughout 
the  State. 

Second.  —  A  System  of  local  reports  from  these  committees  to  the 
Board  of  Education,  was  required,  so  that  the  details  of  the  schools 
in  every  locality  could  be  accurately  known. 

From  these  reports  the  comparative  tables  of  the  State  Keport  ^vere 
compiled,  and  a  new  Impulse  was  given  to  the  schools  by  exciting  an 
emulation  for  an  honorable  position  before  the  public. 

Third.  —  County  Conventions  and  Teachers'  Institutes  were  organ- 
ized,  resulting  in  a  free  interchange  of  ideas  and  experiences,  and 
creating  an  esprit  de  corps,  which  excited  teachers  to  renewed  activity, 
and  stimulated  and  enlightened  the  communities,  where  they  labored. 

Fourth.  —  Normal  Schools  for  the  professional  education  of  teachers 
were  established. 

Mr.  Mann  early  saw,  that,  unless  teachers  had  an  opportunity  for 
special  preparation  for  their  duties,  the  work  of  educational  reform 
could  not  go  on,  because  it  would  rest  on  no  solid  foundation.  To 
the  creation  of  a  Normal  School,  therefore,  he  gave  special  attention. 

At  the  time,  there  was  such  a  general  apathy  in  regard  to  the 
training  of  teachers,  that  it  was  impossible  to  induce  the  Massachu- 
setts Legislature  to  make  an  appropriation,  which,  at  the  present  time, 
would  scarcely  be  considered  sufficient  to  build  a  village  school-house. 
Private  generosity,  however,  furnished  the  means,  which  was  refused 
by  public  parsimony.  Mr.  Dwight,  a  Avealthy  merchant  of  Boston, 
oifered  ten  thousand  dollars  to  the  State  for  the  establishment  of  a 
Normal  School,  provided  the  Legislature  would  appropriate  an  equal 
sum.  This  offer  was  accepted,  and  the  Normal  School  at  Lexington 
was  opened  on  the  8th  of  July,  1838,  within  sight  of  the  ground 
where  the  sturdy  yeomanry  of  New  England  Struck  the  first  blow 
for  their  freedom  in  1775.  The  first  day  of  the  Session  three  pupils 
timidly  made  their  appearance,  and  placed  themselves  under  the  care 
of  the  Principal,  Cyrus  Pierce,  who  afterward  received  from  the  teach- 
ers of  the  State  the  affectionate  title,  "  Father  Pierce."  This  open- 
ing,  so  apparently  discouraging  and  inauspicious,  marked  the  com- 
mencement  of  a  new  era.     The  battle  for  professional  training  had 


UNITED   STATES.  235 

been  woii.  We  may  easily  excuse  Horace  Mann  for  the  expression 
of  triumph  and  enthusiasm  which  is  recorded  in  his  diary:  "Is  it 
not  glorious !  I  feel  rather  sublime !  Let  the  stars  look  out  for  my 
head." 

In  1843,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Educa- 
tion,  but  at  his  own  expense,  Mr.  Mann  visited  Europe,  as  he  says, 
''To  examine  the  schools,  and  to  get  such  information  as  could  be 
made  available  at  home."  His  "  Seventh  Annual  Report,"  made 
after  his  return,  embodied  the  result  of  this  tour.  Probably  no  edu- 
cational  document  in  this  country  has  ever  had  a  greater  circulation, 
or  created  so  deep  a  Sensation.  Wherever  Mr.  Mann  went,  he  carried 
with  him  a  keen  eye  for  what  constitutes  the  true  greatness  of  a 
people.  He  was  not  indifferent  to  the  beauties  of  nature,  nor  to  the 
achievements  of  art ;  but,  like  Pestalozzi,  he  never  allowed  the  aspects 
of  the  externa!  world  to  blind  him  to  the  condition  of  the  people, 
and  he  was  often  pained  and  saddened  by  the  contrasts  presented. 
In  England,  he  did  not  find  much  that  could  be  applied  in  his  own 
country.  In  Scotland,  he  was  pleased  with  the  order,  zeal,  and  love 
of  learning  manifested  in  many  of  the  schools ;  but  he  deplored  the 
time  and  energy  wasted  upon  formulas  and  other  outgrowths  of 
dogmatism. 

In  Germany,  and  particularly  in  Prussia,  he  seems  to  have  discov- 
ered  the  true  secret  of  success  in  the  processes  of  education.  He  is 
most  enthusiastic  in  praise  of  those  schools  which  had  partaken  most 
directly  of  the  spirit  of  Pestalozzi,  through  the  teachings  of  his  im- 
mediate  friends  and  associates.  He  represents  the  teachers  and  pupils 
of  these  schools  to  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  each  other:  the 
former,  intelligent,  self-reliant,  and  sympathetic ;  the  latter,  con- 
tented  and  happy  under  a  course  of  training  which  supplied  the 
wants  of  the  expanding  mind,  and  obtained  obedience  without  re- 
course  to  force,  or  an  appeal  to  mercenary  motives. 

The  enthusiastic  praise  which  Mr.  Mann  bestowed  upon  the  Ger- 
man  schools,  and  the  sharp  criticisms  conveyed  in  the  comparisons 
which  he  made  between  the  methods  he  found  in  use  there  and  those 
practiced  in  his  own  country,  drew  upon  him  the  ire  and  animosity 
of  a  large  number  of  pedagogues,  whose  self-importance  he  had  so 
disturbed,  and  whose  claims  to  be  considered  leaders  in  the  educa- 
tional  movements  of  this  world  he  had  so  rudely  called  in  question. 
Thirty-one  Boston  school-masters  united  in  the  preparation  of  a 
pamphlet,  the  object  of  which  was  to  controvert  the  facts  and  deduc- 
tions  of  this  report,  and  to  demonstrate  the  superiority  of  the  Amer- 
ican school  System  over  that  of  any  of  the  cöuntries  of  Europe.     In 


236  PESTALOZZI. 

his  reply  Mr.  Mann  handled  his  adversaries  "  without  gloves."  He 
overwhelmed  them  with  testimony,  and  deluged  them  with  argument. 

To  the  sneering  remark,  that  the  institutions  of  a  free  country  need 
not  be  improved  by  any  importations  froni  the  governments  of  the 
Old  World,  he  opposed  the  fact,  that  the  rod  had  almost  fallen  into 
disuse  in  some  of  these  despotic  countries,  while,  as  yet,  it  sorely 
troiibled  the  backs  and  hands  of  many  a  budding  republican  under 
the  vaunted  reign  of  self-control. 

The  public,  which  had  become  greatly  interested  in  the  contro- 
versy,  generally  accorded  to  Mr.  Mann  a  complete  victory;  and  he 
was  never  afterward  troubled  by  open  attacks  frora  school-teachers 
whose  self-love  and  zeal  outran  their  intelligence  and  discretion. 

Mr.  Mann  next  advocated  the  grading  of  schools,  which  had  now 
become  for  the  first  time  possible  by  the  preparation  of  teachers 
trained  to  their  vocation.  Before  the  close  of  his  labors  as  Secretary, 
large  numbers  of  these  schools  were  in  successful  Operation,  raising 
the  Standard  of  education,  and  becoming  centers  for  the  dissemina- 
tion  of  new  ideas  concerning  it. 

In  1849,  Mr.  Mann  resigned  his  position  to  take  his  place  in  the 
National  House  of  Representatives,  to  which  he  had  been  elected  as 
successor  to  John  Quincy  Adams.  After  a  few  years'  service  as  leg- 
islator,  he  accepted  the  Presidency  of  a  newly-founded  College  at 
Antioch,  Ohio.  The  extremely  liberal  policy  upon  which  the  Insti- 
tution was  founded  —  that  of  opening  its  doors  to  all  without  regard 
to  race,  color,  denomination  or  sex  —  fully  met  the  approbation  of 
Mr.  Mann ;  and  he  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  with  his 
usual  zeal  and  enthusiasm.  But  financial  difficulties,  arising  from 
broken  pledges,  mismanagement,  and  a  thousand  petty  annoyances 
from  coarse  natures  that  could  in  no  way  sympathize  with  the  benefi- 
cent  ideas  of  the  great-hearted  philanthropist,  embittered  his  life  and 
shortened  his  days.  He  died  at  his  post,  giving  lessons  of  wisdom 
with  his  latest  breath.  His  native  State  has  placed  his  statue  in 
bronze  in  the  Capitol,  side  by  side  with  those  of  her  most  honored 
statesmen.  But  his  most  fitting  monument  is  the  noble  school  System 
which  he  has  built;  and  that  gratitude  which  will  increase  rather 
than  diminish  as  long  as  virtue  is  cherished  among  men. 

The  successors  of  Horace  Mann,  as  Secretary  of  the  Massachusetts 
Board  of  Education,  were  Dr.  Barnas  Sears,  afterward  President  of 
Brown  University,  and  Hon.  George  S.  Boutwell,  since  Secretary  of 
the  United  States  Treasury.  These  men  ably  carried  out  the  meas- 
ures  inaugurated  by  Horace  Mann.  Under  their  administration  the 
influence  of  Normal  Schools  and  Teachers'  Institutes  greatly  increased, 


UNITED    STATES.  237 

and  the  Instruction  given  in  them  became  more  systematic  in  its  char- 
acter.  Graded  schools  were  also  multiplied,  and  the  district  schools 
of  the  towns  were  gradually  consoUdated,  and  placed  under  more 
efficient  and  intelligent  supervision. 

Among  those  who  early  became  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Pesta- 
lozzi was  Lowell  Mason,  of  Boston,  the  eminent  composer  and  teacher 
of  music.  Believing  thoroughly  in  the  new  principles  of  education, 
he  set  about  applying  them  to  his  own  special  branch  of  Instruction 
with  a  success  so  marked,  that  the  methods  which  he  devised  are  now 
substantially  adopted  every-where  in  the  country.  He  also  devoted 
much  time  and  energy  to  the  introduction  of  music  into  the  common 
schools ;  and  in  this  he  succeeded  so  well  that  it  is  evident,  that  a 
füll  realization  of  this  idea  is  only  a  question  of  time,  as  the  edu- 
cational  forces  of  the  country  now  favor  it.  The  manner  in  which 
he  first  became  interested  in  these  principles  is  shown  by  the  foUow- 
ing  history  —  for  some  facts  of  which  we  are  indebted  to  Barnard's 
Keview:  Mr.  Wm.  C.  Woodbridge,  a  well-known  educator,  while 
visiting  the  schools  of  Germany  became  so  fully  convinced  of  the 
importance  of  singing  as  a  branch  of  education,  that  he  provided 
himself  with  the  most  approved  text-books  for  school  and  class  In- 
struction. Among  these  was  the  treatise  of  M.  T.  Pfeiffer  and  H.  G. 
Nägeli,  entitled  "  Method  of  Teaching  Music  according  to  the  Prin- 
ciples of  Pestalozzi."  This  book  and  others  which  had  been  prepared 
with  particular  reference  to  the  legitimate  influence  of  song  in  moral 
culture  and  the  training  of  the  affections,  Mr.  Woodbridge  placed  in 
the  hands  of  Lowell  Mason,  trying  to  induce  him  to  make  an  experi- 
ment  of  a  course  of  singing  on  the  new  plan.  Mr.  Mason,  with  some 
reluctance,  consented,  and  was  himself  astonished  at  the  result  ob- 
tained.  He  was  fully  convinced  of  the  practicability  and  fitness  of 
the  new  method,  which,  while  appealing  to  reason  and  common  sense, 
deals  with  reality  rather  than*  with  its  Symbols,  and  thus  combines 
practice  with  theory. 

In  1837,  Mr.  Mason  visited  Europe,  chiefly  for  the  purpose  of 
making  himself  acquainted  with  the  best  methods  of  teaching  music, 
although  he  did  not  neglect  to  bestow  attention  upon  other  branches, 
in  Order  to  show  the  universal  bearing  of  sound  principles  of  educa- 
tion. After  his  return  from  Europe,  he  had  ample  opportunities  of 
carrying  out  his  principles  of  inductive  teaching,  and  his  methods 
may  not  unjustly  be  mentioned  as  more  rigidly  exact  and  philosoph- 
ical  than  even  those  adopted  abroad.  The  suggestive  views  of  Nä- 
geli  and  Pestalozzi,  Mr.  Mason  has  carried  further  than  any  other 
teacher  has    ever  done,  having  that  simplicity  and   clearness  which 


238  PESTALOZZI. 

enabled  liim  to  render  the  subject  easy  and  populär,  and  a  great  zeal 
and  perseverance,  which  encouraged  him  to  stand  firm  against  preju- 
dice. 

The  Massachusetts  Teachers'  Institutes  established  by  Horace 
Mann,  presented  another  sphere  of  extensive  usefuhiess  and  influence. 
"His  long  experience  as  a  practical  teacher ;  his  rare  tact  in  devel- 
oping  principles  in  the  simplest  and  happiest  manner;  his  endless 
variety  of  illustrations  ;  his  genial  wit  and  humor ;  his  sympathy  with 
youth;  his  gentle,  reformatory  hints,  and  occasional  grave  reflections, 
gave  him  an  indescribable  power  over  his  audience. 

*'Nor  is  his  mission  limited  to  the  single  department  of  music. 
His  wide  and  comprehensive  views  embrace  the  whole  field  of  educa- 
tion.  Horace  Mann  justly  remarks :  '  It  is  well  worth  Walking  ten 
miles  to  hear  a  lesson  of  Dr.  Mason ;  for  in  it,  he  would  hear  a  most 
able  exposition  of  the  true  principles  of  all  teaching,  as  well  as  that 
of  Instruction  in  music.'" 

In  a  second  trip  to  Europe,  Mr.  Mason  was  particularly  interested 
in  the  methods  pursued  at  the  Home  and  Colonial  School,  London. 
The  lessons  Avhich  he  gave  there  excited  the  admiration  of  aU  who 
heard  them.  On  the  other  band,  he  had  the  advantage  of  finding  a 
lucid  and  practical  exposition  of  Pestalozzis  ideas  in  the  writings  of 
Miss  Mayo,  and  in  the  discourses  of  Mr.  Dunning.  The  lessons  to 
which  he  listened  were  not  so  abstract  as  those  frequently  given  by 
professed  Pestalozzians  ;  and  the  pupils  w^ere  supplied  with  more  ob- 
jects  of  Illustration,  than  in  the  schools  of  Germany.  Mr.  Mason  re- 
turned  with  a  still  stronger  conviction,  that  the  experiments  he  had 
hitherto  made  rested  on  a  sure  foundation.  Although  somewhat  ad- 
vanced  in  years,  he  prepared  a  powerful  lecture  upon  Pestalozzianism, 
which  he  delivered  before  the  American  Institute  of  Instruction  at 
New  Haven,  Connecticut,  in  1854,  and  afterward  in  many  other 
places. 

Many  persons  have  contributed  to  the  reform  by  the  preparation 
of  treatises,  and  by  practical  teaching  upon  specific  subjects.  Among 
these  we  must  not  forget  to  mention  the  labor  and  teaching  of  the 
late  Professor  Agassiz,  whose  greatness  rests,  not  merely  in  the  result 
of  his  many  scientific  discoveries,  but  in  the  success  he  achieved  as  a 
teacher.  His  main  task  was  to  inspire  his  pupils  with  a  love  of  na- 
ture,  and  to  show  the  way  by  which  it  is  possible  for  every  aspiring 
mind  to  enter  her  labyrinths  and  to  collect  her  hidden  treasures. 
He  has  given  an  entirely  new  Impulse  to  the  study  of  Natural  His- 
tory  by  his  constant  reference  to  the  objects  themselves  as  the  only 
source  of  correct  Information.     His  reply  to  the  pupil  w^ho  asked  him, 


UNITED    STATES.  239 

"  What  book  shall  I  get  for  the  study  of  the  Crustacecef  shows  how 
thoroughly  he  practiced  the  true  objective  System  in  teaching:  "Get 
no  book ;  go  to  the  sea-shore ;  collect  there  all  the  shells  and  marine 
animals  you  can  find;  observe  them  minutely,  so  that  you  can  de- 
scribe  them  accurately ;  compare  them  one  with  another,  and  State 
definitely  their  points  of  resemblance  and  difference.  In  this  way  you 
will  get  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Clements  of  your  subject,  which 
you  can  get  in  no  other  way." 

When  the  announcement  of  his  death  caused  deep  mourning 
throughout  the  land,  and  high  and  deserved  praises  feil  from  the 
lips  of  sympathizing  friends,  there  was  one  that  surpassed  all  others : 
*'He  was  a  true  teacher,  faithful  to  the  end."  His  Avords  of  Instruc- 
tion, spoken  near  the  close  of  his  life  to  a  congenial  band  of  fellow- 
workers  on  Penikese  Island,  were  gathered  like  a  sacred  bebest.  They 
are  indeed  worthy  of  one,  who,  although  not  directly  a  pupil  of  Pes»- 
talozzi,  had  breathed  the  same  air  on  the  beautiful  shores  of  Lake 
Neufchätel,  and,  what  is  more,  was  imbued  by  the  same  spirit  —  a 
spirit  which  benefits  and  ennobles  mankind. 

From  these  we  select  the  following: 

"My  Intention  is  not  to  impart  Information,  but  to  throw  upon  you 
the  bürden  of  study ;  if  I  succeed  in  teaching  you  to  observe,  my  end 
is  attained.  As  to  myself,  I  must,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  be 
ignorant  before  you." 

"When  you  have  specimens  (the  most  common  are  the  best),  try 
to  make  the  pupil  observe  and  teil  the  most  striking  features.  He 
will  thus  compose  a  book  of  his  own,  which  is  much  better  than  the 
compilations  thrown  into  his  hands  with  an  array  of  empty  names 
and  undigested  facts." 

"Until  you  hioiu  an  animal,  or  any  other  natural  object,  do  not 
care  for  its  name." 

"  Never  attempt  to  teach  what  you  do  not  know  yourself  and 
know  well.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  any  one  can  teach 
the  Clements  of  science.  To  have  a  smattering  of  something  is  one 
of  the  great  fallacies  of  our  time.  A  teacher  ought  to  know  some 
one  thing  Avell." 

"  The  study  of  nature  is  direct  intercourse  with  the  Highest  Mind. 
When  you  sit  down  to  natural  history  work,  it  should  be  with  the 
Intention  to  give  yourself  up  to  the  thought.  It  is  unworthy  an  in- 
telligent heilig  to  trifle  with  the  works  of  the  Creator.  Even  to  a 
materialist,  they  are  the  works  of  the  highest  power.  A  laboratory 
of  natural  history  is  a  sanctuary  in  which  nothing  improper  should 
be  exhibited. 


240  PESTALOZZI.  J 

"I  would  tolerate  improprieties  in  a  church  sooiier  than  in  a  seien"-  '' 
tific  laboratory,"  i 

"  E^member  that  science  is  the  recovery  of  ideas  that  were  in  the 
Creative  Mind.     Love,  devotion,  simple  humility,  and  a  Submission  • 
to  nature  —  not  an   endeavor  to  control  nature  —  give   success  to  a  \ 
naturalist."  | 

Professor  Arnold  Guyot,  the  intimate  friend  and  countryman  of  - 
the  great  Naturalist,  whose  ''Earth  and  Man,"  proclaims  him  a  ; 
worthy  pupil  of  Ritter  and  an  original  thinker,  deserves  mention ;  i 
since  in  his  work  —  presentiug  the  earth  as  a  growing  organism  in  j 
which  all  the  parts  are  subservient  to  one  great  design — he  has  ] 
aided  in  raaking  Geography  a  complete  science,^, nbt  merely  a  con-  1 
glomerate  of  isolated  facts.  '  I 

Without  undervaluing  the  merits  of  other  lecturers  and  writers  in  : 
this  vast  country,  we  may  be  permitted  to  mention  some,  who,  al-  i 
though  not  wholly  pioneers  in  their  respective  scieuces,  yet  working  ; 
together  in  unity  of  faith  and  purpose,  and  considering  a  knowledge  j 
of  the  Clements  of  one  science  as  a  step  toward  the  comprehension  of  j 
another,  did  niuch  for  the  cause  of  education.  The  harmony  which  ^ 
characterized  the  action  of  the  lecturers  of  the  early  Massachusetts  In-  ' 
stitutes  —  Louis  Agassiz,  and  Arnold  Guyot,  Dr.  Lowell  Mason,  \ 
William  Russell,  Alpheus  Crosby,  Samuel  Green,  Dana  P.  Colburn,  | 
Sanborn  Tenney,  and  others  —  seemed  to  be  a  reflex  of  that  harmony  \ 
existing  between  the  different  faculties  of  the  mind,  where  each  de-  ■ 
rives  its  sustenance  and  vigor  from  the  healthy  Cooperation  of  the  i 
others.  The  power  of  these  men  lay  in  their  enthusiasm,  in  the  clear-  j 
ness  and  thoroughness  of  their  ideas,  and  in  their  skill  in  presenting  \ 
them.  j 

So  far  we  have  noticed  only  the  teachers  belonging  to  New  Eng-  ' 
land.  It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  the  reform  was  confined  \ 
to  that  section  of  the  country.  A  direct  effort  was  early  made  to  j 
introduce  these  principles  into  Philadelphia.  In  an  address  delivered  = 
before  the  National  Convention  of  Teachers  in  1862,  Professor  N.  A.  : 
Calkins  gave  the  following  account  of  this  matter :  \ 

"During  the  summer  of  1805,  Mr.  Wm.  McClure,  of  Philadel-  \ 
phia,  while  traveling  in  Switzerland,  visited  Pestalozzi's  school,  and  \ 
was  so  much  pleased  with  the  System  of  teaching  that  he  resolved  to  i 
introduce  it  into  America.  Mr.  Naef,  then  residing  in  Paris,  was  j 
recommended  to  him  for  that  purpose.  Moved  by  the  generous  in-  1 
vitation  of  Mr.  McClure  to  be  Ins  master's  apostle  in  the  New  World,  j 
he  would  have  accepted  immediately,  but  for  his  igriorance  of  the  | 
English  language.     Mr.  McClure   allowed   him,  at  his  expense,  two  ' 


UNITED   STATES.                                                241  j 

1 

years  fbr  the  study  of  tliis  indispensable  means  of  communication.  j 

In  1809,  Mr.  Naef  published  a  small  volume  in  the  style  of  an  ex-  j 
tended  prospectus,  describing   the    plans  and    principlcs  of  the  new 
method  of  education,  and  inviting  attention  to  his  newly-formed  pri- 
vate school.     He  labored  for  several  years  in  one  of  the  suburbs  of 

Philadelphia;    but,   for   some  cause,   probably  from   his   inability   to  ] 

adapt  himself  to  the  American  mind,  his  enterprise  failed.     His  sen-  : 

timent,   expressed  in  a  work  on   language,   that  it   was  his  highest  < 

ambition  to  be  an  obscure,  useful,  country  school-master,  amidst  a  ' 

hardy,  vigorous  Community,  reflected  something  of  the  spirit  which  ; 

animated  his  ancient  friend  and  master  among  the  outcasts  of  Stanz.  \ 

It  was  not,  however,  calculated  to  gain  him  many  admirers  or  im-  ' 

itators  on  tliis  side  of  the  ocean.     Of  his  fate  we  are  unacquainted,  ; 

nor  do  we  know  how  far  his  teaching  or  work  has  influenced  more  prac-  ^ 

tical  men  to  bestow  their  mite  toward  methods  of  education  more  in  \ 
unison  with   the  American  character  and  the  requirements  of  the 

age."  ....  .  X^     \ 

Teachers'  Institutes  had  their  origin  in  New  York,  and  in  many  of  ; 

them  much  valuable  Instruction  has,  from  time  to  time,  been  given.  ] 

David  P.  Page,  a  Massachusetts  teacher,  was  placed  at  the  head  of  i 

the  first  New  York  Normal  School,   in   1845.     He  possessed,  in  an  ^ 

eminent  degree,  the  noble  spirit  of  Pestalozzi ;  and,  before  his  death,  ■ 

in  1848,  he  had  introduced  many  improved  methods  of  instruction,  \ 

all  tending  in  the  right  direction.     Hon.  Samuel  Young,  as  head  of  j 

the  school  department  of  the  State,  gave  a  new  impulse  to  education  ' 

by  his  criticisms  upon  existing  Systems;    and  by  his  bold  and  per-  i 

sistent  advocacy  of  sweeping  measures  of  reform.  ^ 

Rev.  Samuel   J.  May,    D.  H.  Cruttenden,   James  Johonnot,  and  j 

others,  disseminated,  at  Institutes  and   elsewhere,  ideas   concerning  j 

true  philosophical  methods,  until  there  prevailed,  among  the  most  en-  ! 

lightened  friends  of  education,  a  general  distrust  of  the  value  of  the  : 

old  Systems,  and  a  corresponding  desire  to  try  something  new.  i 

AVith   all   this   advocacy  of  correct   principles,  it  is  generally  ad-  i 
mitted,  that  there  has  always  been  a  great  lack  in  the  adaptation  of 

methods  to  the  practical  work  of  teaching.     In  Institutes  and  Asso-  j 

ciations  the  work  was  necessarily  limited  to  the  presentation  of  prin-  j 

ciples  and  methods,  leaving  the  practical  application  to  the  teachers  i 

themselves.     In  the  Normal  Schools  the  theore tical  part  was  given  in  1 

a  very  fragmentary  manner,  with  little  opportunity  to  test  its  appli-  ; 
cation  to  practical  work.     Graduates  were  thus  left  to  their  own  de- 

vices,  and  each   one  was  obliged  to  arrive  at  excellence  through  a  j 

series  of  crude  experiments  and  often  failures,  simply  because  his  first  i 

P.  16.  \ 


242  PESTALOZZI. 

efforts  were  not  imder  the  supervision  of  some  skillful  instructor. 
The  want  of  some  systematic  raethod  of  interesting  priraary  classes 
and  of  dilti vating  the  perceptive  faculties  was  also  feit.  In  spite 
of  fine  Speeches  upon  this  subject,  and  of  the  scattered  private  eftbrts 
which  were  being  raade  in  its  behalf,  it  seems  to  be  triie,  that,  as  Mr. 
Calkins  remarks,  "Up  to  1860,  object  teaching  had  died  out  in  this 
country  throiigh  the  want  of  trained  teachers." 

To  Mr.  E.  A.  Sheldon,  of  Oswego,  New  York,  is  due  the  honor  of 
the  first  introduetion  and  systematic  application  of  the  reformed 
methods  in  the  public  schools.  While  Superintendent  of  the  city 
schools  of  OswTgo,  he  became  more  and  more  dissatisfied  with  the 
results  of  the  methods  generally  pursued.  He  entered  into  corre- 
spondence  with  the  best  educators  in  the  country;  and  visited  the 
most  noted  schools  for  the  purpose  of  finding  out,  not  only  their 
actual  condition,  but  also  what  ideas  were  entertained  by  teachers  in 
regard  to  reforms.  While  on  a  visit  to  the  Normal  and  Training 
School  of  Toronto,  in  1859,  he  first  became  acquainted  with  the 
publications  of  the  Home  and  Colonial  Society,  of  London.  In  these, 
especially  in  the  works  of  Miss  Mayo,  he  found  systematically  pre- 
sented  many  of  the  ideas  which,  in  a  fragmentary  way,  he  had  ad- 
vocated  and  endeavored  to  carry  out. 

He  at  once  procured  the  books  and  apparatus  necessary  to  put  the 
new  methods  in  practice,  and  commenced  a  series  of  experiments, 
looking  toward  a  realization  of  his  highest  Ideals  of  education.  Many 
were  the  difiiculties  encountered;  for  the  methods  were  alike  new  to 
Superintendent,  teachers,  and  pupils  ;  and  no  one  familiär  with  the 
System  was  at  band  to  direct  or  advise.  The  teachers  niet  once  a 
week  to  compare  notes  and  report  progress.  The  whole  corps  of 
teachers  engaged  in  the  work  became,  as  they  saw  the  results,  more 
and  more  interested  in  the  system.  The  Board  of  Education  of  the 
city  of  Oswego  nobly  seconded  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Sheldon ;  and,  per- 
ceiving  that  the  introduetion  of  the  new  method  would  be  greatly 
facilitated  by  the  aid  of  an  experienced  teacher,  they  authorized  him 
to  apply  to  the  Home  and  Colonial  Society  for  a  competent  assistant. 
In  response  to  this  application  Miss  M.  E.  M.  Jones  came  to  Oswego 
and  commenced  her  work  on  the  first  of  May,  1861. 

An  announcement  was  made  that  a  few  teachers  besides  those 
belonging  to  the  Oswego  schools  would  be  admitted  to  the  class; 
and  upon  the  commencement  of  the  work  several  persons  were 
present  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  ofFered.  Miss  Jones 
continued  her  labors  for  nearly  a  year  and  a  half,  when  she  returned 
to  England.     Her  work  was  the  one  thing  needful  to  bring  the  new 


UNITED   STATES.  243 

ideas  of  education  systematically  before  the  American  public. 
Though  the  methods  which  had  been  developed  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  social  System  of  Great  Britaiii  often  iieeded  modiiications  be- 
fore they  could  be  adapted  to  the  wants  of  our  own  schools,  still,  in 
the  main,  they  were  found  to  rest  on  true  principles. 

Many  of  the  teachers  who,  with  Mr.  Sheldon,  had  been  studying 
and  experimenting  in  this  direction,  became  very  enthusiastic  over 
the  results  of  their  work,  and  the  new  ideas  attracted  the  attention 
of  thoughtful  teachers  throughout  the  country.  At  the  close  of  Miss 
Jones'  labors,  there  was  a  general  demand  for  the  continuance  of  the 
work,  and  a  class  was  formed  under  the  charge  of  those  who  had  be- 
come  familiär  with  its  details.  This  class  soon  outgrew  its  local  and 
temporary  character,  and  a  permanent  school  was  organized.  This 
shows  how  much  good  can  be  effected  by  the  hearty  Cooperation  of 
an  active  Superintendent  and  his  teachers ;  and  how  many  powers, 
often  undeveloped,  can  he  made  available  for  the  interest  and  benefit 
of  schools.  A  method  which  appeals  to  the  conviction  and  intelli- 
gence  of  the  teachers  will  prevent  them  from  acting  merely  as  the 
parts  of  a  machine,  of  whose  construction  and  power  they  have  no 
idea.  But  in  order  that  the  teachers  may  gain  a  clear  insight  into 
the  nature  of  education  and  its  means,  there  must  be  at  first  some 
one  who  is  capable  of  giving  the  proper  Impulse  and  direction  to  the 
work  by  contributing  to  it  the  results  of  previous  experience.  With- 
out  this  aid  a  movement  of  reform  would  partake  of  the  character  of 
an  experiment,  and  might  lead  into  dangerous  paths.  When  viewed 
in  this  light,  the  work  of  Miss  Jones  and  of  those  who  supplied  the 
means  for  the  Initiation  of  better  methods  will  find  its  due  apprecia- 
tion. 

From  the  efiect  produced  by  the  new  method  on  pupils  and  teach- 
ers, Mr.  Sheldon  came  to  the  conclusion  that  its  adoption  into  the 
schools  of  this  country  w^as  a  matter  of  vast  importance.  As  a  neces- 
sary  preparation  for  this  end,  he  issued,  in  December,  1861,  an  invi- 
tation  to  some  leading  educators  of  different  States  to  come  to  Oswego 
and  observe  the  practical  working  of  the  method.  This  invitation 
was  cordially  responded  to  ;  and  the  presence  of  such  men  as  W.  F. 
Phelps,  D.  H.  Cochran,  David  N.  Camp,  Thomas  F.  Harrison,  H.  B. 
Wilbur,  W.  Nicoll,  and  George  L.  Farnham,  who  constituted  the 
committee  of  examination,  was  a  sufficient  guarantee  that  the  mat- 
ter would  be  conducted  in  a  fair  and  impartial  spirit. 

Mr.  Sheldon's  address  to  the  members  of  the  committee  shows 
that,  instead  of  boasting  of  the  great  results  already  obtained,  he  im- 
plored  them  to  give  their  earnest  attention,  and,  if  possible,  a  helping 


244  PESTALOZZI. 

hand  to  a  cause  which  was  of  so  great  importance :  "  For  more  than 
eight  years  we  have  beeil  striving  to  improve  oiir  schools,  and,  Avhen 
we  compare  them  with  what  they  were  at  the  time  of  their  Organiza- 
tion, we  feel  that  a  decided  progress  has  been  made ;  but  never  have 
their  deficiencies  been  so  apparent  as  at  the  present  moment.  What- 
ever  the  improvement,  it  certainly  has  not  kept  pace  with  our  ideas 
of  what  it  ought  to  be. 

"  We  have  asked  you  here  to  examine  a  system  of  instruction 
which  we  have  been  endeavoring  to  incorporate  into  our  schools,  for 
the  origin  of  which  we  claim  iio  credit ;  neither  do  we  claim  that  the 
principles  of  this  system  are  nevv  in  this  country.  For  years  they  have 
been  quietly  and  almost  imperceptibly  creeping  into  our  educational 
theories;  and  have,  althoiigh  in  an  isolated  and  disjointed  manner, 
made  their  way  into  our  best  schools.  Good  teachers  every-where 
are  working  more  or  less  in  accordance  with  these  principles — modi- 
fied  perhaps  in  some  degree  —  and  are  thus  preparing  the  way  for  a 
System  of  primary  education,  of  which  they  constitute  the  very  web 
and  woof.  It  is  this  feature  which  we  claim  as  new  in  this  country. 
We  have  never  had  any  system  of  primary  education  based  on  sound 
philosophical  principles,  and  practically  carried  out  in  a  deiinite  and 
well  arranged  curriculum.  Whether  such  is  the  system  to  which  we 
now  call  your  attention,  we  leave  you  to  judge ;  it  is  for  this  pur- 
pose  we  have  presumed  to  invite  you  here  to-day.  Should  your 
judgment,  after  a  careful  investigation,  accord  with  our  own,  it  can 
but  lead  to  a  complete  revolution  in  our  methods  of  teaching :  it  will 
make  teaching  a  profession,  a  title  which  it  has  yet  to  earn." 

It  would  lead  too  far  to  enter  into  a  minute  report  of  the  lessons 
observed  by  the  committee.  It  was,  however,  clearly  demonstrated 
that  the  children  could  observe,  think,  imagine,  judge,  and  reason 
without  the  help  of  books ;  and  that  the  language  used  expressed  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  children,  much  better  than  the  stiif  and 
often  unintelligible  words  and  phrases  of  a  memorized  recitation. 

We  append  the  two  closing  resolutions  of  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee : 

-V-  "Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  your  committee  the  system  of  Ob- 
jeet  Teaching  is  admirably  adapted  to  cultivate  the  perceptive  facul- 
ties  of  the  child,  to  furnish  him  with  clear  conceptions  and  the  power 
of  accurate  expression,  and  thus  to  prepare  him  for  the  prosecution 
of  the  Sciences  or  the  pursuits  of  active  life ;  and  that  the  committee 
do  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  system  in  whole  or  in  part,  where- 
ever  such  introduction  is  practicable. 

''Remlved.,  That  this  system  of  primary  education,  which  in  a  great 


V 


UNITED    STATES.  245 

measure  Substitutes  the  teacher  for  the  book,  demands  of  the  teachers 
varied  knowledge  and  thorough  culture;  and  that  attempts  to  intro- 
duce  it  by  those  who  do  not  clearly  comprehend  its  principles,  and 
who  are  not  trained  in  its  methods,  can  result  only  in  failure." 

The  very  timely  and  judicious  warning,  expressed  in  the  last  reso- 
lution,  ought  to  stimulate  the  managers  of  Normal  Schools  to  exercise 
great  care  in  the  selection  of  their  pupils,  giving  more  attention  to 
their  moral  character,  and  to  their  ability  to  acquire  knowledge  and' 
impart  it  to  others,  than  to  the  number  of  facts  memorized. 

A  great  and  important  object,  however,  had  been  obtained  by 
means  of  this  Convention :  it  caused  the  work  of  reform  to  step  out 
of  its  obscurity  and  obtain  the  encouragement  it  so  richly  deserved. 
Hon.  V.  E.  Rice,  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction — whose 
friendly  interest  and  assistance  for  the  Oswego  school  must  be  grate- 
fully  recorded  —  obtained  from  the  State  Legislature,  in  1863,  a 
grant  of  $3,000  per  annum  toward  its  support.  This  appropriation 
was  after^vard  greatly  increased,  and,  in  1865,  the  Oswego  Train- 
ing School  was  placed  under  the  control  of  the  State  Superintend- 
ent and  a  Local  Board,  and  thus  became  a  State  Institution. 

This  school  became  widely  known  —  pupils  Coming  from  more  than 
half  the  states  of  the  Union  —  and  as  the  number  increased,  the 
course  of  study  was,  from  time  to  time,  enlarged  and  modified,  until 
the  present  curriculum  was  adopted,  embracing  three  departments  — 
Elementary,  Advanced,  and  Classical.  The  gradiiates  from  each  of 
these  are  required  to  spend  one  term  of  twenty  weeks  in  teaching 
under  competent  critics. 

This  was  the  first  Normal  School  in  the  country  where  the  object 
lessons  were  made  a  distinctive  feature,  and  where  the  pupils  were 
required  to  put  in  practice  what  they  had  theoretically  learned. 
Model  Schools  in  which  pupils  observed  the  work  done  by  competent 
teachers  have  been  more  or  less  connected  with  Normal  Schools ;  but 
it  was  in  Oswego  that  a  regulär  and  severe  course  of  practice  under 
the  constant  supervision  of  a  critic  teacher  was  first  made  an  integrant 
part  of  the  school  course.  The  experience  obtained  during  a  whole 
term  of  hard  work  is  calculated  to  produce  excellent  teachers,  who 
are  conscious  of  the  importance  of  the  task,  and  have  a  knowledge 
of  the  means  by  which  the  faculties  of  the  mind  may  be  successfully 
cultivated. 

Good  teachers  who  graduate  from  a  Training  School  are  always  its 
best  advertisers,  because  they  recommend  it  by  their  work.  Shall 
we  wonder  that  the  Osw^ego  school  reaped  the  füll  benefit  of  this, 
and  that  pupils  came  from  all  parts  of  the  Union?     The  annual  re- 


246  PESTALOZZI. 

ports  of  Mr.  Sheldon,  and  a  I\Ianual,  which  showed  the  principal 
means  used  for  the  development  and  Illustration  of  the  elementary 
branches,  also  aided  in  the  dissemination  of  its  methods  and  prin- 
ciples. 

The  great  reputation  and  marked  success  of  this  school  could  not 
fall  to  produce  Opposition ;  but  the  attacks  which  it  has  received  from 
time  to  time  have  only  more  widely  disseminated  the  great  principles 
upon  which  it  was  founded.  The  ill-concealed  envy  of  some  and  the 
influence  of  local  matters  may  have  caused  a  temporary  ripple,  but 
have  had  no  more  power  to  stem  the  advancing  tide  of  sound  educa- 
tional  principles  than  a  pebble  to  stop  a  mighty  river  in  its  course. 
Public  Opposition  became  gradually  silenced,  not  so  much  by  the 
arguments  of  those  who  refused  to  make  temporary  errors  in  the 
application  of  a  method  sufficient  cause  for  its  condemnation,  as  by 
the  logic  of  events. 

The  establishment  of  this  school  has  given  a  great  impetus^  to  the 
cause  of  education  in  this  country.  *  The  possibility  of  establishing 
teaching  upon  a  scientific  basis  having  been  practically  demonstrated, 
the  Organization  of  a  large  number  of  similar  schools  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  speedily  followed,  /  The  Fredonia  Normal  School 
took  nearly  its  entire  corps  of  teachers  from  Oswego,  Dr.  Armstrong, 
the  principal,  having  been  teacher  there.  The  Normal  Schools  of 
Brockport,  Potsdam,  Geneseo,  Buffalo,  and  Courtland  have  been  or- 
ganized  on  the  same  plan,  and  each  has  employed  one  or  more  grad- 
uates  of  the  Oswego  school.  The  great  West,  at  a  comparatively 
early  period,  sent  urgent  calls  for  teachers  capable  of  introducing 
these  methods  into  their  training  schools.  Graduates  have  gone 
to  the  State  Schools  in  San  Francisco  and  San  Jose,  California; 
Mankato,  Winona,  and  St.  Cloud,  Minnesota;  Leavenworth,  Kansas; 
Kirksville  and  Warrensburg,  Missouri;  Terre  Haute  and  Indianap- 
olis, Indiana;  Iowa  City,  Iowa;  Peru,  Nebraska;  Trenton,  New  Jer- 
sey, and  others;  and  also  to  the  Training  Schools  of  Boston  and 
Worcester,  Massachusetts;  Cincinnati,  Ohio;  Indianapolis,  Indiana; 
New  York,  New  York;  Davenport,  Iowa;  Lewiston,  Maine;  and 
many  other  cities.  This  Institution  is  also  represented  in  many 
schools  not  strictly  connected  with  the  training  of  teachers,  yet  the 
outgrowth  of  some  progressive  idea:  these  we  find  scattered  from 
north  to  south  —  from  the  eastern  portions  of  Maine  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  The  graduates  of  the  Oswego  school  have  thus  become 
missionaries,  carrying  the  fundamental  principles  of  Pestalozzi  into 
every  part  of  this  land. 

In  tracing  the  history  of  Mr.  Sheldon  in  connection  with  his  school, 


UNITED    STATES.  247 

we  find  many  incidents  which  forcibly  remind  us  of  similar  events  in  | 

Pestalozzi's  experience.     In  both  we  find  the  same  abiding  faith  in  j 

principles,  which  ultimately  overcomes  all  obstacles ;  the  same  zeal  ''■ 

and  perseverance  in  attaining  their  objects,  and  both  have  had  faith-  j 

ful  and  efficient  supporters.     May  the  mistakes  which  darkened  the  \ 

last  hours  of  Pestalozzi  never  be  repeated  in  this  school,  to  which  so  j 

many  of  its  graduates  look  with  fond  recollection  and  gratitude !  i 

There  are  many  obstacles  to  a  füll  realization  of  the  ideas  which  ' 

all  our  Pestalozzian  schools  seek  to  embody.     The  pupils  applying  for  \ 

admission  have  generally  been  instructed  according  to  the  old  System,  j 

and  are  little  prepared  to  enter  at  once  upon  the  new.     Much  time  \ 

is  consequently  lost  in  the  preliminary  work  of  fitting  them  for  the  \ 

reeeption  of  the  new  philosophy  of  education.     There  is  also  a  desire  \ 

on  the  part  of  most  pupils  to  arrive  at  the  highest  results  in  the  least  l 

possible  time,  producing  an  impatience  in  regard  to  processes,  an  un-  | 

natural  strain  upon   the   nervous  System  and  mental  powers,  and  a  \ 

habit  of  superficiality  in  the  examination  of  subjects.     To  a  greater  ■ 

or  less  extent  the  public  sympathize  in  this  desire  for  quick  results;  \ 

and  the  schools  are  obliged,  in  some  measure,  to  recognize  this  senti-  ] 

ment  in  the  arrangement  of  courses  of  study.     We  need  time  to  re-  \ 

move  these  obstacles, —  time  to  establish  a  Standard  that  shall  be  \ 
higher  and  broader  than  the  one  which  now  measures  education, —  we 

need  time  to  bring  the  whole  organic  life  of  the  people  into  unison  \ 

with  the  conditions  requisite  to  true  progress.  \ 

In  conclusion  we  would  say,  that,  in  this  brief  history  of  Pesta- 
lozzi and  the  educational  movement  which  he  inaugurated,  we  have 
endeavored   to  be   strictly  just  and  impartial.     We  have  gratefully 

recognized  the  value  of  the  ideas  of  the  great  reformer,  and  their  \ 

Service  to  humanity;   but  we  have  nowhere  considered  him  or  his  \ 

sayings  as  infallible  authority  upon  any  subjecit.     We   regard  with  \ 

profound  admiration  his  keen  insight  into  the  very  soul  of  childhood,  \ 

his  loyal  adherence  to  that  which  he  believed  to  be  true,  and  the  sac-  i 

rifice  of  ease  and  comfort  which  he  made  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  \ 

and  destitute ;  but  for  the  principles  which   he   sought  to  establish,  l 

and  for  the  plans  carried  out  in  his  school,  we  ask  the  dosest  scrutiny  ] 

and  the  most  rigid  criticism.  Through  careful  examination  alone  ' 
can  the  value  of  his  systera  be  fully  realized.  We  ask  only  one  favor  V  \ 
in  his  behalf: ilet  his  work  be  judged  rather  by  the  great  principles    X/H 

which  he  estäfelished,  than  by  the  first  crude  experiments  by  which  l 

he  endeavored  to  put  them  in  practice.  f                  ^  \ 

A  clear  distinction  should  always  bS^ade  between  educational  prin- 
ciples and  educational  means.     The  principles  are  eternal,  and  are  the  ; 


248  PESTALOZZI. 

seed  which  unfolds  into  liviiig  and  beaiitiful  forms  in  accordance  with 
fixed  and  imnmtable  laws :  the  means  are  the  plow  which  prepares  the 
ground  for  the  development  of  the  seed  and  for  the  nutrition  of  the 
plant.  In  the  course  of  time,  this  plow  must  undergo  important 
;\  changes  to  conform  to  the  intelligence  of  the  age  in  which  it  is  used. 
The  mind  of  the  child  is  the  field  to  be  tilled,  and  the  teacher  is  the 
laborer  who  directs  the  process,  not  in  the  spirit  of  self-wiU,  but  in 
strict  conforniity  and  obedience  to  the  laws  of  God.  The  perfect 
harvest  is  the  blossom  and  fruitage  of  noble  character. 

With  this  exalted  view  of  the  nature  and  aims  of  education,  the 
reader  can  readily  determine  how  much  the  world  owes  to  the  Phil- 
anthropie spirit  and  practical  experiments  of  the  great  Swiss  Re- 
former, Heinrich  Pestalozzi. 


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